A Nuffield design hexagon task focusing on product design (using resistant materials). Aiming to extend understanding of how to evaluate a design by thinking how it affects people and whether it performs as expected.

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A set of design guides for Key Stage Four focusing on product design providing a straightforward way for students to become familiar with the sorts of questions they should ask when designing for a particular focus area.

The design guides can act as a stimulus for students who are having difficulty in...

Together with related activities from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), this resource allows students to investigate the wide range of sophisticated imaging technology available in modern hospitals, and to explore the latest ideas in search-and-rescue...

Published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, this activity looks at using alternative forms of transport, in this case cycling. The activity centres around groups of students developing an engineered product that represents the ideas of personal transport and sustainability. There is also a case study looking at...

One of the units from the Nuffield Primary Solutions in Design and Technology. Students work in groups to design and make a statue of a creature to welcome visitors to the classroom during the day.

This task asks students to work in groups to design and make a statue of a creature that will welcome visitors...

One of the units from the Nuffield Primary Solutions in Design and Technology in which students produce a multimedia presentation using software they are familiar with from previous ICT lesson time. The presentation content must first be researched and the presentation itself needs to be attractive and easy to use...

In this practical lesson from the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), students complete a number of different tests on a selection of materials and identify each one from its particular properties. The tests include Eureka cans, electrical circuits and other...

In this activity from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, students investigate the properties of different categories of smart materials and decide which kinds of materials might offer the best prospects for a financial investment. Students work in teams and...

Receptors under our skin send signals to our brains about the world around us. Engineers are borrowing this idea from the human body to create a ‘smart skin’ for aircraft. In this activity students learn about motes, the tiny sensors at the heart of this innovation, and how science and mathematics are central to...

This activity could be used in Key Stage 2 as a stand-alone activity, as a focused task to develop skills in the use of the glue gun, or as part of a structures project investigating bridges.

In this activity, students develop both their skills in using a glue gun and demonstrate their understanding of how...

The focus of this activity is on the principle of hydrodynamics through testing boat hull designs in a test tank.

This activity gives students the opportunity to explore and develop their critical thinking and decision making skills through a practical approach....

This Practical Action resource presents a fun hands-on and brains-on challenge for Key Stages Two to Five.

The problem:...

A glossary from the Nuffield Foundation in the form of an A5 booklet with some words already entered. There is space for students to add their own definitions.

These technical briefs focus on low cost approaches to accessing energy. This is vital to health and well being and low costs are particularly important to poorer communities in the developing world.

This activity challenges students to work in small teams to design a water supply system for a small town of 5,000 inhabitants. They have to work within a budget, including giving themselves a profit margin.

The...