Students will learn the 5th grade life science content through a real-world problem: How can a game be designed that simulates the survival of plant and animal populations in an ecosystem as it undergoes environmental changes? Some of the changes that might occur are the introduction of a new population (including invasive species), the removal…
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Students participate in hands-on inquiry-based centers and guided activities to increase knowledge of shadows and light. Students explore and manipulate light, using a light source to simulate the sun at various times of day and observe shadows, create and measure shadows, and test how various types of media block light. Students explore the shadows created…
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In October 2012, a parachute jumper took a leap of science and stepped off a platform from an altitude of close to 24 miles above the Earth’s surface, breaking the 1959 space jump record. The parachute jumper’s team helped him to reach these heights with a helium balloon attached to a space gondola/capsule. Because air…
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Teams of student engineers are challenged to design, build and test a prototype pirate ship design. The prototype ship is tested for its ability to float and to sail around obstacles in a baby pool while carrying a load consisting of a crew, food, and a retrieved hidden treasure. Students use force diagrams to communicate…
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In this unit, student design teams create a plan for an Eco Park that achieves multiple goals for their client, International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF). Students gain knowledge about the ecology of various ecosystems and explore both positive and negative ways in which humans impact the environment. They brainstorm solutions for reducing detrimental effects…
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Student teams are challenged to create an energy-free speaker system for any hand-held device. In order to effectively complete the design challenge, students will explore the wave behaviors and transfer of energy in a sound wave. Students will also analyze the volume of the device and the speaker system as solid figures. Students will study…
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Student engineering teams assist a city that is building a new soccer field for the World Cup competition. To protect the city’s precious groundwater, the city requires a field that is as environmentally sustainable as possible, but also meets the needs of professional players. Students are challenged to design the optimum layered soil arrangement (soil…
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Visitors to schools in underdeveloped countries have found that students suffer from a lack of technology. Some students do not even have access to a flat surface on which to write. Service groups and industries in the United States, have shown interest in providing learning materials for students of such schools. When groups ship materials overseas,…
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Student teams utilize the engineering process to build an eco-friendly, cost-effective packaging prototype for shipping products. In order to effectively complete the design challenge, students research recyclable packaging options for diminishing the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill. Teams follow the engineering design process to design a prototype, and utilize a Decision Analysis…
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Cancer is a part of our daily lives. The treatment for most cancer patients is usually achieved through aggressive chemotherapy. Unfortunately this treatment has major side effects as it destroys not only the cancer cells but also the non-cancerous cells around it. Is there a method of treating cancer using nanotechnology to help target just…
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