Seed Engineers

Students are challenged to construct a device to make a popcorn kernel disperse! They invented contraptions that helped a kernel burst (explode), travel by water or wind, attach to humans/animals or look tempting enough to get digested! Visit We Are Teachers to check out my post: Third Grade Seed Experimentation: Adapting a Popcorn Kernel!

Lego Comprehension

Kids try to build an identical structure by only listening to each others' instructions! 

Place something in between 2 lego plates, so kids can't see each others' lego building base (no cheating!). Kids take turns giving instructions. They must be very detail oriented (describe color, size, and placement). Also, they have to have good listening skills, so they place the lego in the correct spot! When they're finished building, they look at their structures to see if they are identical. Did they give good directions?!

Water Wheels

Integrate math (measuring), science / engineering (simple machines, force/motion, renewable energy), art (design), and history by constructing a water wheel! 

Wired - Can you construct a water wheel that can lift a small load?
Science Buddies - "Put Your Water to Work," exploring Hydropower!
Meet the Greens - Kids go green (water wheel featured bottom right)
History - water wheel / Types - get kids inspired (design) / Physics - water wheel

Egg DROP!

Humpty Dumpty Project: Can you keep an egg from cracking? Kids use any materials they want to protect their egg from a giant free fall! They drop their protected eggs from a super high spot. Then, they examine their egg and see if it's still intact!

Featured above:
straws with paper propellers - Sun Pack
coffee filter, paper bowl, pie pan parachute - News Miner
balloon parachute - Virginia Tech Outreach Program
tp tubes/ bubble wrap and balloon exterior - My Science 8 

Keep It Cool!

This experiment comes from Zoom! Kids are divided up into groups. Each group gets two ice cubes and two paper or plastic bowls to hold the cubes. They create a cube container for one of their ice cubes. The other cube will be exposed to the sunlight with no protection.

Cube Container: Kids use their creativity and construct some type of container that will keep their ice cube from melting in the hot sun. Who's cube will last the longest?! Compare the ice cubes that had no protection to the cubes that were placed in cube containers. Is there a difference?

materials:

2 bowls (for each cube to sit in)

1 shoebox

wax paper

foil

newspaper

masking tape

rubberbands

free choice - kids come up with a material they think will work!

Also, check out Popsicle Preservation!

mini Pulley

materials:

empty thread spool

string

2 cups

pencil

tape

Kids construct a miniature pulley and discover how wheels can help reduce friction! Students keep one cup on the ground and have the other cup suspended in the air (both attached to the pulley). They place 20 pennies in the cup on the ground. Then, they place a few pennies at a time into the other cup. How many pennies are needed to raise the cup off the ground?

Then, they remove the thread spool. They place the string connecting the cups over the pencil. They do the same experiment above (20 pennies to one cup and add a few at a time to the other). How many pennies are needed to lift the cup off the ground?

 Kids "compare the number of pennies needed to raise the cup with and without the rotating spool." Visit Education.com for more details (experiment called SHOWTIME from Janice VanCleave's book Machines for kids)!

Construction:

tape two 6 inch pieces of string to a table

insert a pencil into an empty thread spool

attach the pencil to the hanging string

cut a long piece of string (depends on height of table) and attach to both cups

Kid Lever

Construct a lever that can be used as a balancing scale or a catapult!

materials:
4 plastic cups
ruler
straw
sturdy stick (could use a chopstick)
tape

1. Insert stick inside of straw
2. Tape straw to center of the ruler (back)
3. Tape ends of stick to bottom of 2 of your cups
4. (for balancing scale): tape the bottom of the other 2 cups to the the top of the ruler
PLAY!

You can compare objects' weight or catapult something! Check the experiment out over at Jameson's Lab!

Ramps, Angles, and Measuring

Integrate math and science by constructing ramps! Kids use blocks (or other materials on hand) to construct their ramps. Make sure all ramps are made with the same materials for accurate results. You will need to secure your ramps with duct tape.

Kids investigate how different angles can affect speed and distance of a ball!

Before you test out your ramps, have kids make a prediction. Which ramp do they think will make the ball go the farthest and the fastest? If you're working with older kids have them measure the angle of each of their ramps. Younger kids can compare their ramps by the number of blocks holding it up (example above: 5 blocks vs. 3). 

Have kids measure the distance produced by each ramp (standard or nonstandard - depending on age group). Which ramp helped the ball travel the farthest distance? Time the ball going down each ramp. Which ramp made the ball go the fastest? 

Kid Engineering

Design Squad Nation - Lots of hands on projects, and a great place for kids to collaborate with other students from around the country.
Featured above:
Treasure Grab - Kids investigate magnetism with this measuring construction project!
Indoor Slingshot - Angle Exploration and potential / kinetic energy! Kids measure the distance their object is propelled. What angle worked best? 
Air Cannon - Estimate and measure, while exploring air pressure. Kids blow up a bag, smash it, and a pom pom ball goes flying! 

WYE_Lance has a special showcase of kid engineering projects featured on Instructables: Project-Based Engineering.
Featured above:
Truss Bridges - Kids explore symmetry and angles as they create a unique popsicle stick structure.
Rubber Band Helicopter - How high will it go? How long will it stay up?

Sophie's World - Balloon Boat (top right image)
Kids investigate the power of air, as they estimate and measure the distance their boat floats!

Place Value Town

Game - Who can get the most visitors to Place Value Town?
Create a town out of construction paper or blocks with three recreational spots to represent each place value. Use matchbox cars or paper cars for the numbers (0-9). Kids roll a die. Then, park the number car next to the building. The winner is the player that had the most visitors!

Lego Chrome

Build with Chrome: Kids find and explore different plots. They can recreate a famous landmark or just play around! Once they are finished building, they can print their creation and find the area and perimeter of their structure. You can print a 3D or 2D version of your art. Click here for digital Lego Geometry on Build with Chrome. Click here for tactile Lego Geometry.

Marshmallows 101

Chemistry - Have fun munching and constucting a marshmallow atom!
Featured above:
3D model - Angelfire
Paper Plate "Electron Shells" - The Daniel Academy
2D model - Lights, Camera, Learn

More atom activities:
Over-sized outdoor atom on the blacktop - 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules - kids play the role of the protons, neutrons, and electrons! Plus, many more hands on projects!
Scholastic - Chemistry for 3rd graders - lots of activities that kids can snack on!

photo via adventures of first grade

Geometry - If you don't eat all of your marshmallows, save them for a the classic toothpick and mini marshmallow geometry lesson! Kids construct outlines of 3D solids, as well as polygons. This is a great activity to help kids count the vertices of shapes! (Note: You will want to use dried spaghetti for the rectangular prism to get the correct number of vertices) Visit Adventures of First Grade for details! There is even a scavenger hunt to go along with this activity!

photo credit Tufts Now

Engineering - You can also just have fun free stylin'! Kids can become mini engineers and build skyscrapers and bridges! Who can make the tallest structure without it collapsing?! - link for tall structures here!

2D and 3D Geometric Towns

Integrate math, social studies, and art with 2 awesome projects! 

1. 2D GEOMETRIC TOWN (LINE SEGMENTS) - Check out ABC Teach Geometric Town Map project (more advanced)! View examples at Engrade and Mrs. Sandri Math.

2. 3D GEOMETRIC TOWN - Get creative and "develop basic mapping and geography skills including the use of symbols, compass directions, scale, and grid coordinates," by creating a 3D Town - Peggy Healy Stearns - (photo of town featured above). Visit Parent's Choice for free building pattern printables (store fronts / town accessories), as well as map printables (cardinal rose, coordinate grid, etc)! Also, check out Fun Stuff To Do for lots of 3D solid patterns for your town buildings, and see their version of a Geometric Town!

To turn this into a PBL project, combine the 2 activities! Make small 2D maps of your 3D geometric town. Share your town on a parent night! Pass out maps to the tourists (aka parents) and have them visit your Geometric Town!

Note: You can also add fractions to your town, click here for details!

S.T.E.M.

1. S.T.E.M. Sites:
eGFI - great site for S.T.E.M. resources for the classroom. Click "teachers" link for projects
EIA Energy Kids - lots of cool science experiments and printable lesson plans in pdf format
I-STEM Resource Network - numerous lesson plans, experiments, and activities for elementary

PBS Kids Design Squad Nation -  teacher resources for S.T.E.M. activities. The site includes electricity, force / energy, simple machines, and many more categories that can tie into your Project Based Learning lesson plans.

Click here for Urban Design projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dOUdmDhYxbrTVDiddMi-siVFqbsQCk22/view?usp=sharing

Explore angles, gravity, and friction by making your own Zip Line with Design Squad Nation:



3. The Math Lab explored gravity by creating a bungee cord for Barbie dolls to go on a thrilling adventure! This is a great activity for students to use their measuring skills. Through trial and error, they determine the best length for the cord (made of rubberbands).

barbie head photo credit: Tracheotomy Bob - flickr cc

4. Mrs. Davis, from Birmingham k12, had her class build "Out of this World Vehicles!" Students pretended that they were engineers and designed / constructed a lunar vehicle that could carry lunar rocks (wooden blocks) for a specific distance and timeframe. Check out the lesson plan here! Also, take a look at Mrs. Bushnell's 4th Grade's design / motion challenge (featured below) and Drew's Animals' rover!

photo credit: Mrs. Bushnell's 4th Grade

Sun Baked Bricks

Make your own mini bricks, while learning about soil composition and solar energy, from 60 Second Science. All you need is clay-rich soil, water, ice cube tray (or mold), dry grass, and a sunny spot outside. Place your soil into a bowl, add a little bit of water, and stir around with a craft stick until you get a "thick" mud consistency. Next, mix in your grass. Then, press your mixture into your mold and smooth your bricks out on top. Now, bake your bricks in the sun! Talk about how the sun is a form of radiant energy, as well as thermal energy. The sun is a renewable resource that we can utilize to heat things up! When the bricks are ready, remove them from the mold and build something! You can keep your bricks natural or paint them. You can make houses for action figures, caves for animal figurines, etc. 

Slingshots and Catapults

Demonstrate projectile motion, exertion, force, velocity, potential / kinetic energy, and angles with slingshots and catapults! How much force is needed to project objects of different weights? What angle will fly your object the farthest? 

As a class, or an individual homework project, have kids design a catapult or slingshot. Experiment using different amounts of force. What angle creates the best launch? Try launching objects of different weights. Did heavier objects need more force and require more energy? Measure the distance of the objects you launch!

Featured above with how to instructions:

Slingshots
Hand Held Classic Slingshot - The Risky Kids. You can also make a pvc pipe hand held slingshot, click here for instructions!
Chair Slingshot - Kitchen Pantry Scientist
Pyramid Slingshot - Visit DIY Life
Construct an oversized slingshot for water balloons, balls, toys or anything else you'd like to launch! Visit Instructables, click here and here for two different designs! You can also purchase one from SSWW (featured above).
Indoor Slingshot - Design Squad Nation

Catapults
Ping Pong Ball Scoop Catapult, as well as a wide assortment of designs, click here! 
Popsicle Stick Bottle Cap Catapult - Do It and How
Tissue Box Pencil - Disney Family Fun

There are tons of different designs for slingshots and catapults! You can use different components from various designs to create your very own unique launcher!

3D Newspaper Shapes

Classroom Magic, The Brainy Bunch, and Year 4 made newspaper dowels to construct 3D geometric shapes! Kids roll newspaper into dowels. Visit Classroom Magic for a video tutorial on how to roll your newspaper. Then, kids tape or staple the dowels to form the edges of their geometric figure. This activity helps kids remember how many edges geometric shapes have. Once constructed, they can count the vertices and open faces.

You can make your geometric shape as large as you'd like. You can even create a geodesic dome fort! Visit Geodesic Green House or Instructables for instructions. Also check out Mrs. Amelia Preschool's newspaper sculpture.

Balloon Car

Have kids design a balloon car, bring it to class, and see who's can travel the fastest and farthest. They could uses legos, soda caps, tops of fast food cups, or even cds for wheels. Tell kids to get creative with the car's body. They can make long thin cars or big fat boxed cars. Design elements are completely up to the kids. Their goal is to make a car that is not only fast, but can travel super far. In the classroom, have kids use their measuring skills to figure out the distance their vehicles traveled. Who's car has the most stamina?

See written instructions for Steve Spangler's balloon car (featured above) as well as more racing toy experiments here. 

Aso check out Design Squad's 2 wheel (made with life savers candy) and 4 wheel balloon car!

image credit: Design Squad Nation (2 wheel balloon car)

Electricity with Kids

1. Create an Art Bot that draws on it's own (featured above), as well as other cool projects for the tech-savvy teacher, parent, and kid! Check out Geek Dad's collection over at Wired. 

2. Make a fruity battery with Steve Spangler

3. Light up a bulb in your microwave or build your own with Spangler

4. Experiment with electricity using a light bulb, foil, and a battery with Scholastic

5. Make spuds SURGE with Zoom!

6. Make a simple circuit at Mini Science.

7. Can you get water to conduct electricity? Find out with Studio 3D!

8. Construct a BristleBot with the Evil Mad Scientist!

9. Make squishy circuits (explore insulators and conductors!)

10. Turn a pickle ELECTRIC with 4Volt and with Steve!

photo credit 4Volt

11. Create electricity with an apple! (video link) / (simple written instructions)

12. Construct a rideable hovercraft!

Moon Games

1. Awesome hands on activities from Lunar Prospector! First, construct a lunar habitat out of recycled materials in your classroom or home that meets your basic needs! Click here for details! While exploring your "habitat," collect moon rocks (assortment of candy or stones). Eack kid gets one rock. Then, have them write a fully detailed sentence that describes their rock (texture, color, etc.). Line the rocks up in a row. Can your classmates match the right description to each rock? 

2. Figure out how much you weigh on the moon, as well as each planet!

3. Disney Family Fun has an active night game that reinforces the number of days in a lunar cycle! Kids split up outside and try to capture the moon (a soccer ball), which is being guarded by an astronaut with a flashlight that is deadly! Light will take them out of the game. Click here for details! Younger kid version - to put a twist on the game, you could pass out flashlights to all of the kids and hide the soccer ball. Then, have kids hunt for it using their light. Whoever finds the moon first wins.

4. Make moon craters