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Hands-On Activities

Critical Load

Build a house of cards and see how much weight it can bear before it collapses.

Hands-On Activities

Windy City Tower

Make a paper tower that can withstand as much wind as possible.

Hands-On Activities

Sorting Solutions

How can you quickly and easily sort pasta by size and shape?

Hands-On Activities

Make a Teepee

Construct a teepee large enough to sit in.

Hands-On Activities

Extreme Trampolines

Design a trampoline that can bounce a ball as high as possible.

Hands-On Activities

Trophy Triathlon Design Challenge

Make a tall trophy that can support the sports ball of your choice.

Hands-On Activities

Water Sampling

Design bottles that can float, sink, or remain suspended to hold simulated sensors that would monitor a river's health.

Lesson Plans

Grade K Lesson: Reach for the Skies

Investigate the force of gravity on buildings in natural disasters.

Lesson Plans

Grade 1 Lesson: Daylight in a Bottle

Harness solar energy to light a room.

Lesson Plans

Grade 2 Lesson: Surviving Storm Surge

Build a paper-based house to withstand a storm surge.

Lesson Plans

Grade 3 Lesson: Maglev Train

Design a magnetic train.

Lesson Plans

Grade 4 Lesson: Wind-powered LED

Design a wind turbine to power on an LED.

Lesson Plans

Grade 5 Lesson: Take Out the Trash: Cleaning Our Rivers

Design a way to eliminate trash that threatens a river.

Lesson Plans

Grade 6 Lesson: Desert Island Desalination

Turn saltwater into fresh water through desalination.

Lesson Plans

Grade 7 Lesson: Building Pyramids

Determine how Egyptians moved giant stones.

Lesson Plans

Grade 8 Lesson: Water Purification Device

Design a portable water purification device.

Lesson Plans

Chemistry Lesson: Making an Impact on Habitat

Create a safe way to neutralize the byproduct of a factory.

Lesson Plans

Life Science Lesson: Endangered Species

Engineer a method to support a local species and its future sustainability.

Lesson Plans

Physics Lesson: LED Holiday Card

Design a greeting card that illuminates two LED lights.

Lesson Plans

Dream Big Educator Guide- Complete

Use these lessons in your classroom.

Hands-On Activities

Rubber Band Rovers (Fab Lab)

Design and build a rubber band-powered rover and test it to see how far it goes.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Plankton Net

Design and build a net to collect plankton, and test it out by collecting glitter.

Hands-On Activities

Ocean Acidification

Create a system that uses bubbles to reduce carbon dioxide in water--reducing the water's acidity.

Hands-On Activities

Stranded Island Challenge

Using only the items provided, create a device that can deliver a cell phone to a raft floating in the water.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Pinball Game

Build a pinball game with a launcher and interesting obstacles.

Hands-On Activities

Dance Pad Mania

Make a dance pad that lights up or beeps when you dance and stomp on it.

Hands-On Activities

Launch It

Design and build an air-powered rocket that can hit a target.

Hands-On Activities

Touch Down

Design and build a shock-absorbing system to protect two marshmallow astronauts when they land.

Hands-On Activities

Squishy Circuits

Create a play dough creature with eyes that light up.

Hands-On Activities

Laser Challenge

Transmit music over a laser beam by manipulating mirrors.

Hands-On Activities

Puff Mobiles

Design and build a car that moves by wind power.

Hands-On Activities

Rocket Challenge

Make an Alka-Seltzer rocket and launch it to hit a target.

Hands-On Activities

Design a Catapult

See if you can build a catapult that launches a projectile and hits a target.

Hands-On Activities

Make Your Own Glue

Whip up a batch of glue and test it out.

Hands-On Activities

My Robot Friend

Program a humanoid robot to build a structure.

Hands-On Activities

Hidden Alarm

Build an electrical circuit to power an alarm that is small enough to hide-- and that goes off when you flip the switch.

Hands-On Activities

Zip Line Challenge

Based on a Design Squad episode, students will learn how to design a zip line.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Spinning Top

Make a top and see how long you can make it spin.

Hands-On Activities

Levitating Train

Build a magnetic levitating train that can balance on a magnetic track.

Hands-On Activities

Dream Big Robot Challenge

Program a humanoid robot to successfully navigate an obstacle course.

Hands-On Activities

Build a High Dive

Build a diving board that hangs as far off a table as possible.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Bobsled Racer

Build a miniature bobsled that can win a race down a slope.

Hands-On Activities

Designing Highway Interchanges

How can you get cars on and off one highway and onto another without crossing any lanes of traffic?

Hands-On Activities

Lidar: Mapping with Lasers

Create a 3-D landscape and map it using a lidar laser measuring device.

Hands-On Activities

Water Pollution Cleanup

Design a process to treat water contaminated with acid and oil.

Hands-On Activities

Strongest Shapes

Using index cards and only one shape in your design, build a bridge that can support a toy car.

Hands-On Activities

Slender Tower Challenge

Build the tallest tower you can with the smallest footprint possible.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Watershed

Build a 3-D model of a watershed and experiment to see how human and natural activities can affect it.

Hands-On Activities

Action Figure Diver

Construct a neutrally buoyant scuba diver who neither sinks to the bottom nor floats on the surface.

Hands-On Activities

Marble Run

Create a track that keeps a marble rolling the longest.

Hands-On Activities

Design a Shoe

Design and create a pair of shoes that is stylish and holds up when worn and walked in.

Hands-On Activities

Design a Dome

Design a 12-inch domed structure strong enough to support 60 pennies.

Hands-On Activities

Cable-stayed Bridge

Make a model of a cable-stayed bridge that is put together like a real one, with bridge segments suspended from towers.

Hands-On Activities

Build a Better Bubble Blower

Design, build, and test a bubble blower.

Hands-On Activities

Waterproof the Roof

Make a roof that will keep a cardboard house from getting wet.

Hands-On Activities

Pipe Maze

Design a leak-proof system of pipes to bring water to the right place.

Hands-On Activities

Foil Boats

How many pennies can you design an aluminum foil boat to hold before it sinks or capsizes?

Hands-On Activities

Design a Folding Solar Panel

Design a solar panel that can be folded up and expanded without tearing.

Hands-On Activities

Design a Flotation Device

Design and build a flotation device that can keep an unopened can of soup afloat in a bucket of water.

Hands-On Activities

Creepy Putty

Make your own creepy putty that squishes and stretches.

Hands-On Activities

Build an Earthquake-Resistant Structure

How will a structure made of marshmallows and toothpicks withstand an earthquake?

Hands-On Activities

Build a Straw Bridge

How can you design a bridge out of straws that holds a lot of pennies?

Hands-On Activities

Build a Roller Coaster

Make a roller coaster for a marble that has a loop, hill, and jump.

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Calling All Educators

September 15

June 9