kindergarten

K.4D.1 Create structures using natural or designed materials and simple tools.
K.4D.2 Show how components of designed structures can be disassembled and reassembled.

• Light Plants and Dark Plants, Wet Plants and Dry Ones - grow sunflowers in different light, moisture conditions
• Who Needs What? - student design an experiment to determine a plants need of light and water

first grade

1.4D.1 Identify basic tools used in engineering design.
1.4D.2 Demonstrate that designed structures have parts that work together to perform a function.
1.4D.3 Show how tools are used to complete tasks every day.

• Break the Tension - why do engineers care about surface tension?

• Earth Rocks! - students categroize rocks, soils, and minerals and how engineers use these materials

second grade

2.4D.1 Use tools to construct a simple designed structure out of common objects and materials.
2.4D.2 Work with a team to complete a designed structure that can be shared with others.
2.4D.3 Describe an engineering design that is used to solve a problem or address a need.

• Lunar Learning - identify the phases of the moon, the positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and the difference between waxing and waning
• Do Different Colors Absorb Heat Better? - test how color affects how much heat a material can absorb

• Build a Birdhouse - construct a bird nest or a birdhouse

• Building an Electromagnet - create and test an electromagnet
• Magnetic Attraction - learn about magnetic properties through a series of short investigations

third grade

3.4D.1 Identify a problem that can be addressed through engineering design, propose a solution, and design a prototype.
3.4D.2 Describe how recent inventions have significantly changed the way people live.
3.4D.3 Give examples of inventions that enable scientists to observe things that are too small or too far away.

• Solid, Liquid or Gas? - identify materials as solids, liquids, or gases
• Witnessing Evaporation - conduct a study of evaporation and transpiration

• Fun with Bernoulli - use Bernoulli's Principle to manipulate air pressure
• An Introduction to Inclined Planes
• Heave Ho! - dragging an object up a ramp is easier than lifting the object up
• ENGINEERING UNIT - use knowledge of simple machines to design and build a pyramid

fourth grade

4.4D.1 Identify a problem that can be addressed through engineering design using science principles.
4.4D.2 Design, construct, and test a prototype of a possible solution to a problem using tools, materials, and resources.
4.4D.3 Explain how the solution to one problem may create other problems.

• Engineering for the Three Little Pigs - build three sand castles and test their strength and resistance to weathering
• Design a Recycling Game - design a game that challenges players to come up with alternative uses for used products
• Earth Rocks! - students categroize rocks, soils, and minerals and how engineers use these materials
• Fossil Fondue - use plastic toys and melted chocolate to model one way fossil form
• Faulty Movement - build cardboard models of the three different types of faults
• student generated models - examples of models of the layers of the Earth created by fourth grade students
• Earthquake in the Classroom – shake buildings made from toothpicks and marshmallows on a pan of Jell-O®
• Seismology in the Classroom - create a simple seismograph
• Survive That Tsunami! - use a table-top-sized tsunami generator to observe the formation and devastation of a tsunami
• Ready to Erupt! - Create a volcano model using sand, hoses, and a water balloon
• Acid Attack - use chalk to observe the effects of chemical erosion
• Carve that Mountain - create three dimensional models of several different landforms
• Glaciers, Water, and Wind, Oh My! students rotate through five stations and model different forms of erosion
• Mini-Landslide - explore how different materials on different slopes results in landslides

• One World Ocean - use ice cubes to model ocean currents and salt and fresh water
• Oil Spill Cleanup - create and then clean up an oil spill
• Fish-Friendly Engineering - use an animated PowerPoint involving fish ladders to better undestand the salmon life cycle and the human structures that help or hinder the migration of fish

• Light Scavengers - examine various materials and investigate how they interact with light
• Stations of Light - activities for four station that examine refraction, magnification, prisms, and polarization
• Absorb, Reflect, Transmit, or Refract? - explore how light interacts with materials
• String Telephones - investigate how sound travels through string and air
• Simple Instruments - work as a team to create four different instruments
• Pitch and Frequency - identify the different pitches and frequencies created by a vibrating ruler and straw kazoo
• Traveling Sound - explore how sound moves through liquids, solids, and gases in a series of simple experiments
• Strum Along - change sound made by a simple instrument into music
• Energetic Musical Instruments - design and make a musical instrument
• How Much Heat Will It Hold? - test the heat capacities of different materials
• What is the Best Insulator? - working in teams, students investigate the properties of insulators to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once frozen, to keep it form melting
• Stop Heat from Escaping - which types of insulation conserve the most energy
• Hot Cans and Colds Cans - use what you know about heat to keep a can of warm pop warm or a can of cold pop cold
• Bulbs and Batteries in a Row - build simple serries circuits
• Bulbs and Batteries Side by Side - build simple parallel circuits
• Light the Way - build a simple flashlight
• Will It Conduct? - build and use a simple conductivity tester
• Build a Charge Detector - build and use an electroscope
• Conductivity - create and use a simple conductivity tester
• Yogurt Cup Speakers - build simple speakers using an electromagnet
• Wire Maze - build and test a wire circuit maze
• Newspaper Tower - design and construct a tower out of newspaper

fifth grade

5.4D.1 Using science principles describe a solution to a need or problem given criteria and constraints.
5.4D.2 Design and build a prototype of a proposed engineering solution and identify factors such as cost, safety, appearance, environmental impact, and what will happen if the solution fails.
5.4D.3 Explain that inventions may lead to other inventions and once an invention exists, people may think of novel ways of using it.

• Lunar Lollipops - model the phases of the moon with a foam ball and pencil
• Space Shelter - design a shelter that will allow you to survive on another planet in our solar system
• Lunch in Outer Space! - learn about the unique challenges astronauts face while eating in outer space
• Bombs Away! - design, build, and test a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg
• A House is a House for Me - build model houses for different climate
• Good News - We're on the Rise! - construct a simple aneroid barometer
• Wild Wind - make a simple wind vane
• Windstorm - learn about how tornadoes are formed and what they look like using a water vortex
• Tornado Damage! - learn about tornadoes, the damage they cause, and the rating scale
• Build It Better! - draw a design for a structure that will withstand and protect people from tornadoes
• Witnessing Evaporation - conduct a study of evaporation and transpiration
• Air Pressure - discuss units of pressure and get a sense of how much air pushes on humans
• Air - Is it Really There? - perform several simple experiments to develop an understanding of air
• Moving without Wheels - use a simple water cycle model to understand how water transports pollution

• Where Does all the Water Go? - demonstrate groundwater flow in a water cycle
• Walk, Run, Jump! - timed relay races that use the skeletal muscles
• 20/20 Vision - what is good eyesight? how can eyesight be enhanced?
• Just Breathe - create a model set of lungs
• The Beat Goes On - construct a simple device to make it easy to see your heart beat
• Do you have the Strength? - demonstrate the strength of the human heart with a tennis ball
• Muscles, Muscles Everywhere - learn about the 3 kinds of muscles and how muscles change in outer space
• Patterns and Fingerprints - apply several methods to identify and interpret patterns in fingerprints
• Sticks and Stones Will Break that Bone! - learn about the strength of bones and methods of mending fractures
• Bury Your Trash! - what happens to trash buried for two to three months?
• Population Density: How Much Space Do You Have? - how does population density affect city planning?
• Biodomes Engineering Design Unit - create a model biodome

• Engineer a Sneaker - design a shoe
• Fascinating Friction - investigate lubrication between materials to understand friction
• Fancy Feet - design, build, and test a pair of wearable shoes
• Strawkets and Thrust - launch paper rockets using a straw
• Strawkets and Weight - launch paper rockets after changing the mass of the rockets
• Strawkets and Control - launch paper rockets with fins
• Pop Rockets - launch paper rockets using antacid tablets to provide thrust
• Swinging With Style - design timekeeping devices powered by human swinging
• Build an Electromagnet - test the strength of an electromagnet
• Wow! That Captures It! - learn how motion capture (mo-cap) enables animators to create realistic effects
• Engineering in Reverse! - take a toy apart to suggest ways to engineer it so its a better toy
• Heads Up - learn about parts of an airplane by making paper airplanes
• Better by Design - test a paper airplane's control surfaces
• Balsa Glider Competition - test variables using a glider model