Water Safety for Families with Children with Special Needs
This video addresses the unique needs for water safety for families of special needs children. Special considerations for children with cognitive disorders and wheelchair bound children are discussed. This is a good resource for any adult working with special needs students/children such as parents, teachers, caregivers, and/or babysitters. (3:32)
King Leads the March on Washington
the March on Washington (3:10) On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people gather to support civil rights, and share Dr. King's "dream" of equality. This video is highlighted by King's "I have a dream speech" and the reaction to it. The efforts of the federal government to enforce civil rights is explained as well as how the March was organized and where.
Constructing Sonoran Desert Food Chains and Food Webs
Is the food chain shown above accurate? Does the first link depict a producer, the second link a herbivore, and the third link an omnivore / carnivore? Students must correctly determine whether a species is a producer or consumer, and what type of consumer; herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore. Students will be provided with a list of Sonoran Desert species and asked to construct, within their groups, several food chains. These food chains will then be used to construct a food web. In order to comp
Fundamentals of Populations and Population Growth
This activity reinforces the concepts covered in the lecture presented during LESSON 3 of this unit. It takes the student through the definition of a population. Graphing skills are tested and the difference between the independent and dependent variables is explained. The S-shaped and Boom and Bust growth rate curves are next compared and contrasted. The activity then asks the student to analyze a data table and to plot its points. Students gain personal application of the lesson material. And
Designing a Medical Device to Extract Foreign Bodies from the Ear
Students learn the engineering design process by actually utilizing the steps, from identification of the problem to designing a device and evaluating its efficacy and areas for improvement. A quick story at the beginning of the activity reveals the problem: a small child put a pebble in his ear and we don’t know how to get it out! As biomedical engineers, the students are asked to design a device to remove it. Each student pair is provided with a model ear canal and a wide variety of classroo
Concentrating on the Sun with PVs
Students design, build and test reflectors to measure the effect of solar reflectance on the efficiency of solar PV panels. They use a small PV panel, a multimeter, cardboard and foil to build and test their reflectors in preparation for a class competition. Then they graph and discuss their results with the class. Complete this activity as part of the Photovoltaic Efficiency unit and in conjunction with the Concentrated Solar Power lesson.
Designing Medical Devices for the Ear
Students are introduced to engineering, and more specifically, to biomedical engineering and the engineering design process through a short lecture and interactive, hands-on activity (approximately 30 minutes long), where students design their own medical device for retrieving foreign bodies from the ear canal. In this lesson, the teacher first reviews the basics of ear anatomy then discusses how ear infections occur and how they are treated. Following antibiotic treatment, the most common treat
Two Sides of One Force
Students learn more about magnetism, and how magnetism and electricity are related in electromagnets. They learn the fundamentals about how simple electric motors and electromagnets work. Students also learn about hybrid gasoline-electric cars and their advantages over conventional gasoline-only-powered cars.
The Advantage of Machines
In this lesson, students learn about work as defined by physical science and see that work is made easier through the use of simple machines. Already encountering simple machines everyday, students will be learn about their widespread uses in improving everyday life. This lesson serves as the starting point for the Simple Machines Unit.
Energy Sources Research
Fact sheets are provided for several different energy resources as a starting point for students to conduct literature research on the way these systems work and their various pros and cons. Students complete a worksheet for homework or take more time in class for research and presentation of their findings to the class. This approach requires students to learn for themselves and to teach each other – rather than having a teacher lecture about the various sources and systems.
Clean It Up!
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!
Sound Booth Construction
Students explore the sound dampening ability of numerous materials by designing and prototyping model sound booths. As a result, students learn about how sound is reflected, absorbed and travels through various materials, thus giving them an overview of sound dampening, energy absorption and sound propagation in the context of engineering. Students also create blueprints and document their findings in a formal lab report.
My Mechanical Ear Can Hear!
Students are introduced to various types of hearing impairments and the types of biomedical devices that engineers have designed to aid people with this physical disability.
The Grand Challenge
This lesson introduces the MRI Safety Grand Challenge question. Students are asked to write journal responses to the question and brainstorm what information they will need to answer the question. The ideas are shared with the class and recorded. Students then watch a video interview with a real life researcher to gain a professional perspective on MRI safety and brainstorm any additional ideas. The associated activity provides students the opportunity to visualize magnetic fields.
Designing a Spectroscopy Mission
Students find and calculate the angle that light is transmitted through a holographic diffraction grating using trigonometry. After finding this angle, student teams design and build their own spectrographs, researching and designing a ground- or space-based mission using their creation. At project end, teams present their findings to the class, as if they were making an engineering conference presentation. Student must have completed the associated Building a Fancy Spectrograph activity before
Audio Engineers: Sound Weavers
Students are introduced to audio engineers, discovering the type of environment in which they work and exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis. Students come to realize that audio engineers help produce their favorite music and movies.
Soil Investigations
Students learn the basics about soil, including its formation, characteristics and importance. They are also introduced to soil profiles and how engineers conduct site investigations to learn about soil quality for development, contamination transport, and assessing the general environmental health of an area.
Breaking the Mold
In this math activity, students conduct a strength test using modeling clay, creating their own stress vs. strain graphs, which they compare to typical steel and concrete graphs. They learn the difference between brittle and ductile materials and how understanding the strength of materials, especially steel and concrete, is important for engineers who design bridges and structures.
Build it Better!
Students use their knowledge of tornadoes and damage. The students will work in groups to design a structure that will withstand and protect people from tornadoes. Each group will create a poster with the name of their engineering firm and a picture of their structure. Finally, each group will present their posters to the class.
Bombs Away!
Students will design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. The device and its contents represent a care package that must be safely delivered to people in a disaster area with no road access. In a similar fashion to a team of design engineers, students will design their devices using a number of design constraints including limited supplies. The activity emphasizes the change from potential energy to kinetic energy of the device and its contents and the energy trans
