10 Resources for Engineers Week

It’s Engineers Week! From growing plants in space to innovations in the building designing process, these resources will bring real-world applications of physics and engineering into your teaching and learning. Use videos to illustrate how engineering touches every aspect of life.

Funny Boat | Grades K-8
It may be admirable to create something useful out of garbage, but it could be risky to trust your life to a boat made from items others have thrown away. In this video segment adapted from FETCH!™, cast members put their engineering design skills to the test when they are challenged to construct a boat that floats, can be steered, and is propelled by something other than oars.

Teaching NGSS Engineering Design Through Media | Grades K-12
Teaching Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Design Through Media is a collection of activities and professional development resources drawn from programs such as WGBH’s Design Squad Nation and the Engineering is Elementary® project at the Museum of Science, Boston.

What is the Design Process? | Grades 3-12
This video segment, adapted from Thinking Big, Building Small, demonstrates each part of the engineering design process, which is fundamental to any successful project. Though it does this in the context of building skyscrapers, the process is applicable to any sort of project, including constructing schools, building bridges, and even manufacturing sneakers. Students will recognize the value of going through its steps sequentially when constructing scale models.

Engineering Is E-Book Series | Grades 6-12
Bring science to life at the touch of a fingertip. Access the latest e-books from KQED! Explore STEM topics and careers through real-world examples. Designed to engage learners through a blend of high-quality media, interactive elements and informative text, the books and accompanying iTunes U courses offer rich learning experiences both in and out of the classroom.

Digital Engineering | Grades 5-13+
Learn about innovations in the building design process in this clip from Super Skyscrapers, as planners of London’s Leadenhall Building use a 3D computer model to support an innovative, “just in time” materials delivery system. Building in the heart of London comes with unique challenges, as old, narrow streets and a high building density means that there’s no room to store building components in the building’s footprint.

Agricultural Engineering | Grades 7-13+
Agricultural engineers explain their work and how they use biology and engineering to make farms energy-efficient and our food supply safe and plentiful. They describe what drew them to agricultural engineering and their education and career paths.

Turn Your Smartphone into a Lab | Grades 8-13+
In this video from Inside Science see how researchers at the University of Washington turn your smartphone into a powerful portable microscope.

5 Resources for Learning About Engineering Careers | Grades 8-13+
Introduce your students to a multitude of different engineering jobs, career pathways and people working in the field.  Research shows that students who start thinking about college in middle school and early high school are more likely to go to college.

NASA Physics and Engineering Collection | Grades 9-12
This collection is designed to bring real-world applications of physics and engineering concepts into high school classrooms. Take a deep-dive into the 70 classroom and professional development resources in the collection and get some tips on teaching with digital media with this free webinar recording.

Tissue Engineering-Design Squad | Grades 9-12
With the help of PBS’s “Design Squad,” students will hear about the work of Howard Pryor, a tissue engineer and doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Pryor demonstrates a device he is working on to replace diseased livers. He explains the challenges of artificially engineering a human organ, including getting blood to flow through a device for processing just as it would through a liver.

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