Physics of Roller Coasters

Students explore the physics utilized by engineers in designing today's roller coasters, including potential and kinetic energy, friction, and gravity. First, students learn that all true roller coasters are completely driven by the force of gravity and that the conversion between potential and kinetic energy is essential to all roller coasters. Second, they also consider the role of friction in slowing down cars in roller coasters. Finally, they examine the acceleration of roller coaster cars as they travel around the track. During the associated activity, the students design, build, and analyze a roller coaster for marbles out of foam tubing.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Scott Liddle

Antiobiotic Resistance

In the explorable explanation players can learn how antibiotic resistance happens. They can interact with bacteria in this simulation to learn how when living things reproduce, there is a small amount of variance in their offspring. This allows organisms to respond to changes in their environment over several generations. Applied to bacteria, when they treated with antibiotics, only the strongest survive and multiply, creating an increasing resilient population.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Interactive, Simulation

Wizardry and Chemistry

Students learn how common pop culture references (Harry Potter books) can relate to chemistry. While making and demonstrating their own low-intensity sparklers (muggle-versions of magic wands), students learn and come to appreciate the chemistry involved (reaction rates, Gibb's free energy, process chemistry and metallurgy). The fun part is that all wands are personalized and depend on how well students conduct the lab. Students end the activity with a class duel a face-off between wands of two different chemical compositions. This lab serves as a fun, engaging review for stoichiometry, thermodynamics, redox and kinetics, as well as advanced placement course review.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Eugene Chiappetta, Marc Bird

Energy-Efficient Housing

We all know that it takes energy to provide us with the basics of shelter: heating, cooling, lighting, electricity, sanitation and cooking. To create energy-efficient housing that is practical for people to use every day requires combining many smaller systems that each perform a function well, and making smart decisions about the sources of power we use. Through five lessons on the topics of heat transfer, circuits, daylighting, electricity from renewable energy sources, and passive solar design, students learn about the science, math and engineering that go into designing energy-efficient components of smart housing that is environmentally friendly. Through numerous design/build/analyze activities, students create a solar water heater, swamp cooler, thermostat, model houses for testing, model greenhouse, and wind and water turbine prototypes. It is best if students are concurrently taking Algebra 1 in order to complete some of the worksheets.

Material Type: Full Course

Above-Ground Storage Tank Design Project

At this point in the unit, students have learned about Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, Bernoulli's principle, and why above-ground storage tanks are of major concern in the Houston Ship Channel and other coastal areas. In this culminating activity, student groups act as engineering design teams to derive equations to determine the stability of specific above-ground storage tank scenarios with given tank specifications and liquid contents. With their floatation analyses completed and the stability determined, students analyze the tank stability in specific storm conditions. Then, teams are challenged to come up with improved storage tank designs to make them less vulnerable to uplift, displacement and buckling in storm conditions. Teams present their analyses and design ideas in short class presentations.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Emily Sappington, Mila Taylor

All Kinds of STEM: Oil Spill Cleaner-Upper

 Oil spill cleaner-upper | micro:bit Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing states and least-developed countries.This activity is in two parts, you can do either part – or both. The first part can be completed with no additional hardware or even micro:bits, comprising a challenge to design an efficient algorithm to clean an area of sea. The second part builds on this to create an autonomous vehicle that can mop up oil spills.

Material Type: Lesson

Authors: Lori Blantz, Heather Brown, Lauren Beal, Andrea Fellows, Janice Beitzel

All Kinds of STEM Design Challenge using Micro:bit (Diving into Pool Safety)

Diving into Pool Safety: A STEM Design Challenge using the Micro:bit

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Kimberly Herskowitz, Lauren Beal, Rachael Haverstick

Building a Solar Oven

In this activity students will design a solar oven and test their effectiveness using micro:bit technology. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Teresa Davis, Lauren Beal, Scott Davis

Daily Temperature Collection and Analysis using micro:bit

 In accordance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being, students are asked to help contain the spread of the communicable disease, COVID-19, by monitoring their daily health. Code will be written to use the micro:bit’s thermometer to collect data which is then stored daily in a CSV file and later used to make statistical calculations and a box-and-whisker plot.

Material Type: Lesson

Authors: Sandy Carosella, Lauren Beal

All Kinds of STEM Design Challenge - Micro:bit programming and sustainable energy

Micro:bit based engineering design challenge that will incorporate "Kid Wind" lessons. If "Kid Wind" is not available, it could be adapted to use with most any sustainable energy system. Students will identify a component of the system to improve, then identify a code that could be used with that system from the Micro:bit library. Students will then create that code. The end product of the entire lesson involves a presentation on the sustainable energy system, the code, and aspects of career exploration. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Mike Hardwig

Detecting Marine Debris - using Micro:bit

Project lesson plan involving detecting floating marine debris. Connections to the oceans' garbage patches.   Resource using Micro:bit and extension equipment to wire devices and Microsoft Makecode to code the Micro:bit to perform processes. Engineering Design Process is used to design a floating platform to hold and protect all equipment from water while it performs its functions.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Marie Barber, Lauren Beal

Micro:bit Lesson Plan: "Water Up" activity

Students will use micro:bit to create a step tracker that also provides reminder to drink water every so many steps.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Amanda Reese, Lauren Beal

Flood Warning System

After learning about flooding, students consider the design problems caused by its early detection

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Daniel Lingle

Reliable Online Resources

Middle and High School educators across Lebanon County, Pennsylvania developed lesson plans to integrate the Pennsylvania Career Education and Work Standards with the content they teach. This work was made possible through a partnership between the South Central PA Workforce Investment Board (SCPa Works) and Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13) and was funded by a Teacher in the Workplace Grant Award from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. This lesson plan was developed by one of the talented educators who participated in this project during the 2019-2020 school year.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Rachael Haverstick, Louise Leach

Hurricane Risk Reduction - STEM Lesson

Students will gain an understanding of warning systems used for natural disaster awareness and learn about the causes of flooding as related to hurricanes. They will need to develop innovative solutions to better prevent damages and loss of life brought on by hurricanes. They will design prototypes using Strawbees, SAM Labs, and Micro:bit resources. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Mark Wojdyla

Cleaning Water Pollution with Strawbees and micro:bits

Students build a prototype of a barge and shuttle to clean the river.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Janice Beitzel, Rachael Haverstick

Taking the Tiny House to the City

Taking the Tiny House Project to the City!

Material Type: Lesson

Authors: Tracey Oblinsky, Rachael Haverstick

Introductory Lesson for Designing a Pedometer (Middle School)

Diet and exercise are important keys to good health.  This is a design challenge that is part of a unit that I teach in STEM class on health.  Prior to this activity, students explore the CDCs top causes of death with a focus on nutrition, and conduct a study with a focus on MyPlate.  This design challenge helps transition into the exercise component.Students will apply the Engineering Design Process (EDP) to design, test, analyze, and improve a pedometer using micro:bit.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Kevin Childs, Lauren Beal

Pollution Sensors...

The following is a lesson to help my students develop a plan or ways to find pollution in the ocean to help the environment.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Data Set, Homework/Assignment

Authors: Bill Traphagen, Rachael Haverstick

Solar Power Strawbees/Micro:bit Lesson

This lesson goes along with a unit in which students will be studying specific countries. Students will identify an area of need in their country and create a solar device to help power a solution to that need. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Authors: Andrea Fellows, Rachael Haverstick