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Engineering Design Challenges There are 80 items.
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Windy City Tower
1 Review(s)Participants learn about lateral forces, strong building design, and wind tunnel testing as they plan out and make a paper tower that meets specific design constraints and withstands as much wind as possible without sliding or toppling over. 1804
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How-to Video Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Surviving Storm Surge
2 Review(s)Children play the role of engineers as they build a model scene of a paper house on a play dough "coast" and inundate it with flood water to see if the house they made can withstand the rising tide. 2738
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How-to Video Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Waterproof the Roof
1 Review(s)Design and construct a roof that will protect a cardboard house from getting wet. 1275
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Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Edible Destruction
2 Review(s)Participants use snack foods in an engineering design challenge to create simple structures (6” or taller) and test – and refine – the structure’s ability to withstand “earthquakes.” 4048
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Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Mini-Landslide
1 Review(s)Participants explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of differing severity. 1307
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Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Strongest Shapes
1 Review(s)Using index cards and only one shape in your design, build a bridge that can support the weight of one die-cast toy car across an 8-inch span. 1961
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How-to Video Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Strong Paper Structure
2 Review(s)Build a newspaper structure that is strong enough to hold heavy books. 5062
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How-to Video Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Build a Straw Bridge
2 Review(s)Using tape and no more than 20 straws, design a bridge that can span a gap of about 1 foot (at least 25 cm) and support as many pennies as possible. 16632
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How-to Video Family Take-home Activity A take-home that can be sent with patrons that wish to do STEM activities at home. These at-home activities cover similar topic areas as the associated activity and could be handed out at the conclusion of a program or left on a circulation desk for patrons to take home. -
Human Suspension Bridge
Participants create a suspension bridge with their bodies and experience the forces that make a suspension bridge work. 0
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Who Dirtied the Water: A Role Playing Activity
Participants take turns adding pollutants to a gallon jar of water (which symbolizes a local body of water) as the facilitator reads a story about water pollution. 0
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Build a Watershed
Participants build 3-D models of watersheds and experiment to see how human and natural activities affect them. 0
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Water Pollution Cleanup
Participants design processes to treat water contaminated with acid, oil, and other pollutants. 0
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