As many schools begin to realize the need to integrate more STEM/STEAM into the curriculum, those of us in elementary education who may feel a bit inadequate when it comes to lofty fields like engineering sometimes have a hard time incorporating it into our lessons. Novel Engineering is a project that aims to show how engineering and … Read more
I’ve been holding off on purchasing a drone for our classroom. Quite frankly, I don’t know a lot about them and I haven’t seen a lot of useful applications for education. I like testing out cool gadgets, but I don’t think it’s fair to spend that much money on something for my students that won’t be … Read more
I mentioned two invention challenges for students last week, and I am thrilled to add another opportunity to the list. The Star Trek Replicator Challenge is being offered by NASA and The ASME Foundation. The launch video is a great introduction to the challenge, which invites students to “design a non-edible, food related product for astronauts to 3d … Read more
If you have been working on Design Thinking with your students, you might want to enter one of two invention challenges that open to children at the moment: The 2016 Annual Invent It Challenge, sponsored by Spark!Lab, invites participants from 5-21 years of age to submit an idea for a solution to a real-world health … Read more
I am not, by any means, an expert in 3D printers. I’ve used two different printers in my life. The first, which was an amazing introduction to 3D printing, worked extremely well for a couple of months. However, it has been out of commission this school year with various issues, and we are hopefully getting a … Read more
KQED Science has a challenge for students ages 11-18. Design a solution to a problem that is in the world around you, and share it on social media using #EngineerThat. (Students under the age of 13 must share through a parent’s social media account.) If you have questions about the contest, there is a live … Read more