STEM Curriculum

In this unit, students will compare the structural integrity of various shapes and materials in designing a temporary shelter.  When weather turns extreme, homeless shelters can exceed capacity. In an effort to best prepare homeless shelters to support community homeless needs, students will be tasked to design a temporary structure for a single user. Design […]

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 […]

Working people, school children, and others pack meals to take with them that will be eaten later in the day, however there may not be access to refrigeration or the capability to heat their food.  Students will design and build a lunchbox that will maintain two different temperatures in different sections of the lunchbox. Students […]

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, […]

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 […]

Student teams design and construct a small/micro-scale symbiotic aquaponic system that can be used by populations lacking natural resources needed to provide and cultivate a sustainable, nutrient-rich food source. This unit engages students in participating in an engineering design challenge in which they create a viable farming method consisting of a self-sustaining system that cycles […]

Applying and exploring the qualities of buoyancy, surface area, velocity, and volume, students will research, develop, and design a pirate ship in attempt to save the treasure. They will become mechanical and material engineers as they utilize the engineering design process and strive to design a ship that will move a crew, their supplies, and […]

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 […]

Grades: PreK -K In this unit, students will conduct scientific investigations and use the engineering design process to solve a problem related to the Three Little Pigs. The scientific investigations will engage students in understanding composite materials and how they improve the performance of an end product.  The students will form generalizations using their prior […]

Lasers can be used for many purposes such as targeting and communication. Light is refracted (“bent”) as it travels from one medium to another.  This can be demonstrated by a straw appearing to be “bent” when placed into a glass of water. Throughout this inquiry STEM lesson, student will have students investigate and apply lasers, […]