Young Engineers Session 1

Building things using strong shapes and simple machines

This session gives students experiences building strong structures that meet specified requirements. They also learn about using simple machines to help make work easier.

All lesson plans and handouts are provided here in PDF format. If you use any of these lessons, please provide feedback.

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Lesson 1	Introduction - What is an engineer? Plastic rod structures	Handout
Lesson 2	Marble Roller Coasters	Handout 1 Handout 2 Handout 3 Handout 4
Lesson 3	Newspaper Bridges I: Building with weak materials
Lesson 4	Newspaper Bridges II: Making an even stronger bridge	Handout 1 Handout 2
Lesson 5	Building a Suspension Bridge	Handout 1 Handout 2
Lesson 6	What kind of bridge is best?	Handout 1 Handout 2
Lesson 7	Pegboard Erector Sets I: Building a Railroad Bridge I
Lesson 8	Pegboard Erector Sets II: Building a Railroad Bridge II
Lesson 9	Simple Machines	Handout
Lesson 10	Potato Chip Factory Subsystem I
Lesson 11	Potato Chip Factory Subsystem II
Lesson 12	Potato Chip Factory Subsystem III
Lesson 13	Nuts, bolts, screws, and triangles: Attaching things securely
Lesson 14	Building with Basswood Strips (Catapult I)	Handout 1 Handout 2
Lesson 15	Building with Basswood Strips (Catapult II)
Lesson 16	Alternative Lesson 1 Introduction - What is an engineer? Newspaper structures
Lesson 17	Alternative Lesson Idea - Attaching long objects securely and using triangles to make a strong structure