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Marble Runs

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Description: Many people love roller coasters, but a portion of the population might prefer a slower, calmer ride experience.  Busch Gardens, a popular theme park in Williamsburg wants to offer a variety of rides that appeal to all ages and abilities.  Can you help them design and create a roller coaster that will move at a much slower pace than the typical roller coaster?  You will present your prototype in the form of a marble run built on the provided surface.  Think about the marble runs that you may have played with or built when you were younger.  Can you redesign a marble run that will take the marble the longest amount of time possible to reach the end without stopping?  At the conclusion, each group will test and time their marble runs.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Anne Petersen

In the Deep Dark Deep

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Description: Robot and Monkey went on a deep-sea dive in their trusty submarine but they have run into trouble and their submarine light has stopped working. They were able to get back to the continental shelf, but now they need your help to complete their next mission. With the materials provided, create a new and improved submarine model that will withstand the depths of the water and allow the light to continue to shine. The students will be able to create a model of a simple circuit using new materials and explain how it works. The students will also be able to construct a model of the ocean floor and label and describe each of the major

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Anne Petersen

Sound Battle of the Bands

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Description: Throughout the world and history musical instruments have been used to communicate, a source of entertainment and rituals. Your group will use your knowledge of sound to design your own musical instruments and create an original music composition to entertain your class.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Anne Petersen

Marvelous Max the Roofer

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Description: Magnetic Max loves magnets so much, he decided to work for a roofing company, using his electromagnets to pick up nails for roofers when they are done with a roofing job. But, he needs your help. Max’s tool is too weak, and he needs you to create a model of a tool that can pick up the largest amount of nails in 10 seconds. He has to be able to pick up the nails, and then be able to release the nails and put them in a bucket for disposal.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Anne Petersen

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition...Oh, My!

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Description:  There is weathering, erosion, and deposition occurring on the playground and disturbing the area where the students can play!  First, invite the students to try to locate areas on the school grounds that show signs of these processes.  Visit these areas as a class and observe what is happening as the soil is broken down, moved away, and dropped somewhere else. (If there is not an appropriate spot on the school grounds, the teacher can use a photograph.)  Your job is to determine the best way to stop the soil from breaking down and moving so the playground is not ruined.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Anne Petersen

Keeping Cool at Recess

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The students will design and build a tent structure, working within a small group or partnership, that will keep the area under the tent cooler than the area in the sun.  The structure will allow a small toy to fit underneath along with a thermometer. The students will use the materials provided by the teacher in the time frame allowed in the classroom.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Kristen Schlegel

Ramp and Roll

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Students will design a ramp to move a toy car from one location to another.Then they will measure to determine how far the car moves on the floor until it stops rolling.  They will record their data in a table after measuring with nonstandard units.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Heather Cherry

Robots in Space

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Students will apply their knowledge of the solar system in this two step challenge.  First they will use the attachments for their robot, Legos, and additional recyclable/craft supplies to create a space suit for their robot that will account for all of his basic needs while encountering the varying conditions in space.  Then, students will program their robot to visit the planets in size order starting with the largest planet.  Students can use number line mats, grid mats, or a piece of bulletin board paper to create their “map” of the solar system.  They will demonstrate their understanding by creating a diagram of the planets in order from the sun.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Heather Cherry

It’s Lunchtime

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The students will work with a partner or small group to design a program to move a “student” through a classroom with obstacles.  Their job is to find the most efficient sequence of actions for them to get to the cafeteria from the classroom. The student will be a paper avatar.  The classroom will be a 8 by 8 grid with pictures of obstacles the student must move through to get to different destinations.  The students will try to move through with the least number of steps.  As an extension, they can rename a loop of multiple steps, and it will become one step.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Kristen Schegel

Bowl-a-Rama

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Students determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or pull by designing and creating a ramp.  They test their design, make improvements and redesign their ramp before retesting.  They graph their data to determine which ramp makes their ball hit their intended target.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Bambi Feigner

Matter STEM Challenge

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Students are given the scenario: You want to start a new summer business while you are off from school, you want to make and sell snow cones at your local playground, but you don’t want them to melt on the walk there. Can you design and create a container that will slow down the rate at which your snow cones will melt?  Criteria include the size of the container and the determination of the temperature.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Rachel Christiansen

Save the Trails

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After modeling weathering and erosion, students are presented with the scenario: The Erosion Engineers company has hired your team to help them create a way to protect the hills of the Appalachian Trail from eroding during the heavy rainfall and winds from the next incoming hurricane. You must design and create a barrier of protection of the land from water and wind erosion, that will significantly reduce the negative effects of weathering and erosion.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Rachel Christiansen

I Need a New Pencil!

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The students are not being efficient when they get materials or move around the classroom, so they are wasting learning time.  Students will design a sequence of steps, or program,  to move the student to their destination without using extra steps.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Kristen Schlegel

Magnet Games

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The kindergarteners need games to play during indoor recess.  Students will design and create a simple game or maze that uses a magnet to make something move.  The object of the game should be simple so that kindergarteners can understand the directions and successfully play it.  The game should also be neat and appealing so that kindergarten students will want to play it.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Heather Cherry

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