Students learn about civil engineers and work through each step of the engineering design process in two mini-activities that prepare them for a culminating challenge to design and build the tallest straw tower possible, given limited time and resources. First they examine the profiles of the tallest 20 towers in the world. Then in the first mini-activity (one-straw tall tower), student pairs each design a way to keep one straw upright with the least amount of tape and fewest additional straws. In the second mini-activity (no "fishing pole"), the pairs determine the most number of straws possible to construct a vertical straw tower before it bends at 45 degrees—resembling a fishing pole shape. Students learn that the taller a structure, the more tendency it has to topple over. In the culminating challenge (tallest straw tower), student pairs apply what they have learned and follow the steps of the engineering design process to create the tallest possible model tower within time, material and building constraints, mirroring the real-world engineering experience of designing solutions within constraints. Three worksheets are provided, for each of two levels, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. The activity scales up to school-wide, district or regional competition scale.

This unit consists of five lessons covering architecture and structural engineering. Each lesson includes goals, anticipatory set, learner objectives, guided practice, procedure instructions, closing activities, and extensions. Student handouts and worksheets are also included.

Lesson 1: Animal Structures
Lesson 2: Homes
Lesson 3: Stability
Lesson 4: Local Towers & Bridges
Lesson 5: Schools

NGSS: K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3

Materials: blocks or other building toys, ruler, book or ball (for weight), graph paper, pencils, and floor plan of school or hand-drawn approximation featuring highlights.

Students use a table-top-sized tsunami generator to observe the formation and devastation of a tsunami. They see how a tsunami moves across the ocean and what happens when it reaches the continental shelf. Students make villages of model houses and buildings to test how different material types are impacted by the huge waves. They further discuss how engineers design buildings to survive tsunamis. Much of this activity setup is the same as for the Mini-Landscape activity in Lesson 4 of the Natural Disasters unit.

Students learn about wind as a source of renewable energy and explore the advantages and disadvantages wind turbines and wind farms. They also learn about the effectiveness of wind turbines in varying weather conditions and how engineers work to create wind power that is cheaper, more reliable and safer for wildlife.

This unit consists of five lessons encouraging younger learners to engineer increasingly better towers using blocks and recycled materials. Each 30 minute lesson ("phase") includes goals, discussion, activity instructions, extensions, and student worksheets.

Phase 1: Paper Cut-Outs Activity
Phase 2: Building Blocks Activity
Phase 3: Number of Blocks Activity
Phase 4: Building within a Space Activity
Phase 5: Recycled Tower Activity

NGSS: K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

Common Core ELA: RI.2.1, W.2.6, W.2.8, SL.2.5

Common Core Math: MP.2, MP.4, MP.5, 2.MD.D.10

Groundwater is one of the largest sources of drinking water, so environmental engineers need to understand groundwater flow in order to tap into this important resource. Environmental engineers also study groundwater to predict where pollution from the surface may end up. In this lesson, students will learn how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow.