In this first lesson, students explore technology, both high-tech and low-tech, and what it means to be an engineer.
Students hunt for technologies in the classroom and take apart familiar technologies to understand the system and the components that make them work.
Students learn about blueprints and floor plans and the importance of thinking through and sketching a design before creating it.
Students are introduced to the concept of remote sensing and consider how the five senses humans have are the same or different from what sensors can do.
Students learn about how sensors are used in everyday life. Then, students create a hygrometer.
Building upon their understanding of sensors, students learn about LiDAR and engage in an activity that models how LiDAR works.
Students learn about smart objects and consider the functions that make an object “smart” (sensors!) before planning and creating a model of a smart object.
Students learn about models and how models are used in engineering. Then, students work with a partner to plan a model for an improved home system.
In this lesson, students learn about 2D and 3D drawings. Then, students use their plans from Lesson 3 to create a model of the improved home system.
Students learn about biomimicry and use the concept of biomimicry to brainstorm and design ideas inspired by animals.
Students learn about sound transmission and different ways to transmit sound. Then, they use what they’ve learned to engineer a sound transmission technology.
