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Materials Matching Mixer Activity
Teaching Materials | 29 Jun 2020 | Contributor(s): Amber Genau
This materials-themed ice breaker activity is great for the first day of a camp program to get students thinking about basic material properties, as well as talking to each other and speaking out loud in front of the group. The name of a common engineering material (steel, rubber, concrete,...
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Engineering Communication with Tinker Toys
Teaching Materials | 29 Jun 2020 | Contributor(s): Amber Genau
This resource describes three variations on an engineering communication activity using Tinker Toys. In the main activity, small groups of students are given a bag of Tinker Toys and instructed to build anything they like. They are then asked to write down building instructions for...
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Pineapple Packaging Design Challenge
Teaching Materials | 29 Jun 2020 | Contributor(s): Amber Genau
This activity asks students to work in teams to consider the pros and cons of different materials as a container for cut pineapple (metal can plastic jar, glass jar). It reinforces the differences between different categories of material, weighing conflicting factors to reach a design...
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Balloon Skewer Relay Race
Teaching Materials | 29 Jun 2020 | Contributor(s): Amber Genau
Do you think you could get a bamboo barbecue skewer through a balloon without popping it? With a little dish soap and some practice, I bet you could! Skewering a balloon is a fun and inexpensive way to demonstrate the structure-dependent properties of polymers. Polymers are made...
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Model Rockets and Composite Materials: Design, Build, Launch
Teaching Materials | 27 May 2021 | Contributor(s): Amber Genau
Students will gain experience with polymer matrix fiber composites, composite production, and the tradeoffs inherent in the engineering design process by designing, building and launching their own model rocket. Composite materials are created via hand layup and vacuum assisted resin...