Recently Added Curriculum

Memristors are next-generation computer hardware components that increase computational efficiency while reducing energy requirements. In this activity, students ask and answer the question, “How do materials scientists design memristors by predicting material properties at the atomic scale?” Students research the process of computational analysis used to identify possible materials, as well as the crystal structures of the materials themselves. Students then are challenged to imagine and plan ways to model memristors using simple materials available in the classroom. Students test and refine their models in an iterative design process that mimics the procedures used by professional materials scientists.

Students become materials engineers tasked with designing and optimizing a functional polymer-based material (i.e., slime) through systematic testing and iteration. They begin by making a control slime and collecting quantitative and qualitative data on key material properties, including stretch length, bounce height, and texture. Through repeated trials and averaging results, students analyze variability and identify relationships between composition and performance. Students then apply this analysis in an engineering design challenge, where they select performance criteria and redesign their slime to meet specific functional requirements. They iterate based on experimental data, evaluate trade-offs between competing properties, and refine formulations accordingly to optimize material performance for a defined application.

Students apply the engineering design process to design a shower-timer device (shower clock) that accurately measures a five-minute shower. After watching a NASA eClips video segment, students connect water-conservation strategies used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to their own lives and explore three methods of conserving water: reducing, reusing, and recycling. Working in three-person teams with defined roles (research/design specialist, materials and construction specialist, and test specialist), students design, build, test, refine, and share their shower-clock prototypes.

Students are introduced to the real-world problem of backpack straps breaking and the challenge of developing an eco-friendly strap to replace a broken strap. The goal is to use the engineering design process to develop a replacement strap using paper (a weak material) by changing its structure to make it strong enough to hold up to 7 kilograms, the recommended maximum mass for a fifth grader’s backpack. Students work through the design process to explore how structure affects strength while also considering eco-friendly solutions. Instead of throwing away a backpack and contributing to landfill waste, students focus on creative, sustainable ways to repair and reuse materials.

Students use gummy bears and their own gummy prototype to simulate a cell membrane as they learn how osmosis works in a cell and how water moves down the concentration gradient. As they learn more about cell membrane function, they better understand the concepts of cell membranes, osmosis, and concentration gradient.

Students design, build, and program a device that detects and measures light from multiple sources. Using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit different wavelengths of light (such as infrared, visible, and ultraviolet), students develop code that enables their device to selectively identify and respond only to the wavelength containing the desired information. Through iterative testing and refinement, students integrate programming, electronics, and optics to create a functional sensing system. This activity models real-world challenges in optical communication and remote sensing, helping students explore how engineers design systems to transmit and detect information using electromagnetic radiation.

Students take on the role of engineers designing a “Mars Thermos,” similar to how NASA engineers create insulation systems to protect spacecraft components and scientific samples from extreme temperature changes on Mars. Student teams use the engineering design process and everyday materials to design and build an insulator that keeps a small amount of water from changing more than 5°F over 10 minutes. After conducting a control experiment using uninsulated cups, students investigate the insulating properties of materials to inform their designs. Teams measure temperature at regular intervals, graph and analyze their results, and compare the performance of their designs to the control. Through this process, students explore heat transfer and basic thermodynamics while building scientific inquiry, data collection, and mathematical analysis skills.

Students work as part of an engineering team to help complete a simulated Mars Sample Return mission. Like real engineers at NASA, each group designs and codes a microdevice to accomplish one essential task, such as loading samples, generating power, sending signals, checking systems, or launching the return rocket. Groups may use multiple coding languages simultaneously, allowing students at all experience levels to participate meaningfully. After building their individual systems, the class collaborates to integrate all components into one fully functioning mission.

Students explore capacitance and capacitors through hands-on experiments and design challenges. They construct and test capacitors with common materials, measuring how changes in plate area, separation, and electrolyte affect capacitance. Using their results, students design, build, and optimize a capacitor prototype, reflect on performance, and propose improvements. Throughout the process, they apply the engineering design process, make predictions, and compare outcomes to their expectations. This activity helps students understand how capacitors store electrical energy, how design choices influence performance, and how these principles apply to real-world electronics and engineering applications.

Students work as teams of engineers to design solutions to one of six real-world problems by creating functional logic gates. They learn how transistors serve as the fundamental hardware that allows computational logic to produce outcomes based on inputs, and apply this knowledge by building their own gates on notecards using transistors, resistors, copper tape, masking tape, LEDs, and 9V batteries. Students plan and test their designs using truth tables, integrate individual gates into Boolean circuits, and write corresponding Boolean expressions. Along the way, they engineer compact circuit pathways, troubleshoot issues such as short circuits, and explore vertical layering and vias, similar to microchip and PCB design.

Students take on the roles of product designers, chemists, and problem solvers to create an eco-friendly, nontoxic cleaning product for a community co-op. Students investigate how cleaners work, explore the effectiveness of natural ingredients, and examine the health and environmental impacts of traditional chemical-based products. Working collaboratively in teams, they use the engineering design process to research, design, test, and refine their own cleaning formulations using safe, natural materials. To complete the challenge, students design sustainable packaging and develop branding elements, including a product name, logo, and label, to effectively communicate the benefits and environmental responsibility of their cleaner.

Students use real data from the Perseverance Mars rover to create a system that monitors and tests the functioning of the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument, which converts carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into breathable oxygen. Students analyze temperature, pressure, and gas flow data to determine whether MOXIE is operating properly. To do this, they apply chemistry concepts such as balanced chemical equations and gas laws alongside coding and data analysis techniques. Working in small teams, students break the problem into manageable parts, test their code using subsets of real mission data, and refine their solutions. The activity emphasizes engineering design, systems thinking, and the critical role computer science plays in enabling advanced technologies for space exploration.

Students simulate the photolithography process used in semiconductor manufacturing by using gel nail polish as a UV-sensitive photoresist. They design a simple opaque mask using materials such as construction paper or foil, then place it over the coated disc. Using an overhead UV light, they expose the disc for varying times to simulate under-, proper-, and over-exposure. Uncured gel is removed with acetone, revealing a hardened pattern that mimics how microchips are fabricated. Students analyze the results, compare them to their original mask design, and discuss the effects of exposure time and resolution. This activity connects to NGSS standards in physical science and engineering design by exploring light–matter interactions, energy transfer, and real-world applications in microfabrication.

Students explore the natural phenomenon of surface tension and learn how it is applied in industry, such as food science, and in medical contexts, including disease progression from vaping-related lung injury. Students design and test candy-coating techniques as a model to investigate how surfactants affect liquid spreading and adhesion. They then connect this model to biology by examining how natural lung surfactants function in respiration and how vaping additives can disrupt alveolar coating efficiency, linking engineering design to real-world health challenges.

Students learn about polymers, plastics, and bioplastics by exploring both natural polymers (e.g., hair, DNA, and cotton) and synthetic polymers found in everyday items (e.g., clothing, toothbrushes, and carpets). They begin by modeling polymer chains from paper clips, starting with simple chains and then modifying their structures to observe how changes affect flexibility, rigidity, and strength. Students also consider the environmental impacts of synthetic plastics, including their persistence in the environment for hundreds of years, and the challenges of recycling, such as high energy costs. They explore how bioplastics (i.e., materials with plastic-like properties that are biodegradable) could offer a more sustainable alternative. Using a guided recipe, students design their first bioplastic piece and then modify the recipe to achieve a different outcome, applying the engineering design process and analyzing how changes in ingredients influence material properties.