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Linkages
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This design challenge is an open-ended exploration of linkages, a group of parts connected by hinges, and the types of motion they can create.
Creepy Crawlers
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Trick your family and friends with this creepy crawler that moves up and down. In this activity, learners construct a circuit and motor device that will move a homemade spider in a spooky way.
Cartesian Diver
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In this demonstration, learners observe the effects of density and pressure. A "diver" constructed out of a piece of straw and Blu-Tack will bob inside a bottle filled with water.
Animal House
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The goal of this activity is to design, build and test a house or toy for an animal.
Spider Glider
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In this fun activity about spiders, learners build and design a spider from cardstock, straw, string, and pipe cleaners.
Crunch Time
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In this quick and easy activity and/or demonstration, learners use two empty 2-liter bottles and hot tap water to illustrate the effect of heat on pressure.
Engineer an Octopus Suction Pad
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In this engineering design challenge, learners build an octopus-inspired suction pad that can grab an object and hold it tightly in the air.
Lever Cowboy
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In this activity, learners build a figure that moves and "comes to life" when they pull its string.
River Catcher
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In this activity (located at the top of the page), learners make an easy river strainer and see what they can catch.
The Great Plankton Race
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In this activity, learners are challenged to design a planktonic organism that will neither float like a cork nor sink like a stone.
Supporting Structures
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In this activity about living things and gravity (page 5 of PDF), learners design and build an exoskeleton or an endoskeleton for an animal of their own invention.
Motor Bird
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In this activity, learners build a bird that flies in place with help from a motor, wire, and some straws.
Oscillating Woodpecker
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In this activity, learners will experiment with the physics of forces - kinetic energy and friction while making a moving toy woodpecker.
Build a Borneo Glider
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In this inquiry-based activity, learners investigate the basic forces of flight as they construct their own paper glider that represents a rainforest creature from Borneo (large, tropical island in So
Woodpecker
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In this activity, learners construct a traditional handicraft toy that illustrates a motion commonly associated with violins and earthquakes.
Cranking Bird
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In this activity, learners build a mini crank machine to make a bird "fly." This engineering activity introduces learners to automata, rotational motion, cranks and cams.
Hoop Glider
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In this activity, learners will experiment with the physics of flight by making a gliding contraption with strange looking wings. The activity explores flight with connections to the natural world.
Control a Bird’s Flight
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In this engineering design challenge, learners make a bird and then control its flight with attached strings.
Generating and Recording Data
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In this math activity, learners use a "function machine" to collect and organize simple data. The function machine in this case is a cardboard box and the input/output data are paper fish.
Floating Butterfly
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In this activity, learners create a cool floating animal using the science of magnetism. Learners discover what happens when a piece of magnetic metal enters a magnet's field.