This course teaches simple reasoning techniques for complex phenomena: divide and conquer, dimensional analysis, extreme cases, continuity, scaling, successive approximation, balancing, cheap calculus, and symmetry. Applications are drawn from the physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Examples include bird and machine flight, neuron biophysics, weather, prime numbers, and animal locomotion. Emphasis is on low-cost experiments to test ideas and on fostering curiosity about phenomena in the world.

In this book, Sanjoy Mahajan shows us that the way to master complexity is through insight rather than precision. Precision can overwhelm us with information, whereas insight connects seemingly disparate pieces of information into a simple picture. Unlike computers, humans depend on insight. Based on the author’s fifteen years of teaching at MIT, Cambridge University, and Olin College, The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering shows us how to build insight and find understanding, giving readers tools to help them solve any problem in science and engineering. (Description courtesy of MIT Press.)

This article discusses how to use murals as an interdisciplinary, cooperative activity to blend science, art, and math concepts.

This video segment explores the benefits and pitfalls of cloning as a means of reproduction. From Evolution: "Why Sex?"

Explore some of the wonders of modern engineering in this video from the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York. Hear a diverse selection of engineers explain how things work.

In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, Andres Berrio, an associate scientist at Biogen Idec, discusses what he has done to succeed in the biotechnology field.

In this lesson students create a laboratory simulation of the water cycle. Indicating the change in states of matter and the flow of energy. Students also compare and contrast the cycle of matter with the flow of energy. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

This resource is a collection of monthly at-home STEAM challenges that students in Grades K-6 can compete using objects found around the house.

This resource is a collection of monthly at-home STEAM challenges that students in Grades K-6 can compete using objects found around the house.

In this feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," students explore the relationship between oxygen concentration and the well-being of various organisms by simulating a change in oxygen levels and observing what happens.

In this interactive activity from ChemThink, take a closer look at atomic structure, properties, and behaviors.

This lesson introduces J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron and E. Rutherford's planetary model of atomic structure. This is the first in a series covering modern atomic theory.

This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey takes a look at the scale of the atom and the tremendous amount of space between the electrons and the nucleus. If all this empty space exists in matter, how can any substance be solid?

Novel representations and diverse perspectives can reveal new insights into complex systems, and can support rich understandings of the world. In this activity, students will identify and analyze the choices artists and scientists make when creating representations of living or non-living natural objects. This process will help students recognize the potential and place for their own articulation of how the world works. After drawing from nature, students will reflect on the process of representing information, then compare their drawings with that of a 16th-century artist. Students will consider what is included and what is excluded, and hypothesize about larger contexts and systems.

The engineering design process involves many steps. Not only must an engineer be able to devise a solution to a problem, he or she must also be ready to test and evaluate that solution to reach the best result. To successfully complete the design process, an engineer must be able to identify design flaws and learn from his or her mistakes. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, learn about the design process as cast members create automatic door openers that enable them to open their bedroom doors while lying on their beds. For grades 3-8.

The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.

This resource provides a short reading section with experimental data and a few questions about the text. It was created with standardized assessment in mind and aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

This webpage from Exploratorium provides an activity that demonstrates the Bernoulli principle with readily available materials. In this activity a table tennis ball is levitated in a stream of air from a vacuum cleaner. The site provides an explanation of what happens, asks questions about the activity, and also describes applications to flight. This activity is part of Exploratorium's Science Snacks series.

Students explore static electricity by rubbing a simulated balloon on a sweater. As they view the charges in the sweater, balloon, and adjacent wall, they gain an understanding of charge transfer. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET). The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments.