Transistors are the building blocks of modern electronic devices. Your cell phones, iPods, and computers all depend on them to operate. Thanks to today's microfabrication technology, transistors can be made very tiny and be massively produced. You are probably using billions of them while working with this activity now--as of 2006, a dual-core Intel microprocessor contains 1.7 billion transistors. The field effect transistor is the most common type of transistor. So we will focus on it in this activity.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students will explore population interaction and impacts on an ecosystem through a breakout box activity grounded in engineering design thinking. Students will learn about how bees are interrelated within an ecosystem by solving clues to save a hive from a breakout box and they will engineer a plan to incorporate bees into a community that addresses concerns, benefits and trade offs for the bees and the humans.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson length: 1-2 hoursGrade level: 6-8This is a three part lesson where students (1) explore elements (and their properties) that are used in materials to build and power a cell phone (any easily accessed, small, electronic machine could stand in for a cell phone), (2) approach activities though an engineering design thinking lens and participate in an active simulation of the movement of electricity (electrons) to power a device, and (3) participate in a Lego build where they experience set constraints to their building project. This can be related to the constraints engineers face as they build cell phones (or anything else).This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson length: 2-4 hoursGrade level: 6-8Students build models of four different biomes: forest, tundra, grasslands, and dessert. Student groups build a biome and then model climate and weather in the biome, as well as the impacts of human development and engineering mitigations in the biome.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students build a water filter with a variety of natural and commercially produced materials. First they test the materials and then choose which to layer together themselves based on material performance. Students learn about water resources and engineered supports for the earth’s water systems and the impacts on environmental and human health. Engineering connections are highlighted throughout the lesson. Special thanks to Giles County, VA STEM Coordinator, Christina Martin, whose unit on The Global Water Crisis was the inspiration for this lesson. Also thanks to the NASA Water Filtration Challenge (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/water-filtration-challenge/) that helped guide Christina in the development of her lesson.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson length: 1-2 hoursGrade level: 6-8Students use a recipe to create bouncy balls and then measure the bounce of their ball to test damping qualities of different materials. Students practice using the scientific method and think about how engineers might use it.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson length: 2-4 hoursGrade level: 6-8Students learn about DNA and genetics through an exploration of corn genetics and soil types. The activities are grounded in engineering design thinking and relate to nutrient impacts of soil on the productive growing of corn with specific genetic characteristics. Students will consider genetic modification to address deficiencies as well as the consequences of these options.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Teachers and students can learn how to put together a Microcontroller Kit with an environmental conditions sensor that measures temperature, humidity, pressure and altitude and could be used for multiple experiments and shared collectively amongst departments or schools.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Teachers and students can see an example of how to put together a Microcontroller Kit with a Temperature sensor that could be used for multiple experiments and shared collectively amongst departments or schools.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson length: 1-2 hoursGrade level: 6-8Students practice using the scientific method as they engineer methods to fix damaged mountain roads. Using engineering design thinking, students assess the problem(s), develop strategies for addressing them, budget for repairs, and create and test prototype solutions.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students learn about potential and kinetic energy as it relates to mountain roads. The activities are grounded in engineering design thinking as it relates to engineered roads and road repair. Also included is a challenge activity with renewable energy Snap Circuit simulations.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students learn about relationships between earth and space including elements of our solar system, gravity, escape velocity, and space exploration though a breakout box experience. They solve clues about space and conditions needed to support life on a planet and perform tests related to space travel. Clues for opening locks on the breakout box are purposefully challenging to simulate the struggle engineers often grapple with when problem solving.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students will explore the carbon emission impacts of different lifestyle choices. The activity is grounded in engineering design thinking as it relates to a family's carbon footprint and options to shift that footprint to make change (trade offs). Students will understand carbon impacts, work in teams (families) to negotiate lifestyle adjustments, and brainstorm opportunities for engineered improvements to decrease carbon emissions.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This is a set of three, one-page problems about calculating the volume of objects. Learners may calculate the volume of an asteroid, Vesta, or the stacking of satellites inside an atlas V rocket nose cone. Options are presented so that students may learn about the Dawn mission to asteroid Vesta through a NASA press release or about NASA's investigation of comets by viewing a NASA eClips video [5 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.

Windmills have been used for hundreds of years to collect energy from the wind in order to pump water, grind grain, and more recently generate electricity. There are many possible designs for the blades of a wind generator and engineers are always trying new ones. Design and test your own wind generator, then try to improve it by running a small electric motor connected to a voltage sensor.