This resource will introduce ideas about keeping materials and tools cool whilst in space, and try to encourage the students to apply these ideas during a hands on activity.

The students work in groups to design, make, test and evaluate an appropriate heatshield to protect a square of chocolate from a heat...

This activity sheet for students will enable them to demonstrate the idea of reinforced materials and conclude which is the best to choose for a specific task, in this case constructing buildings resistant to earthquakes and high winds. The work of a structural engineer is also profiled.

This resource looks at whether it is possible to mimic human movement by using prosthetic technology to make a ‘muscle’ for a new generation of robots, so they can lift their arms and grab objects.

This activity looks at the use of plastics. Because the manufacture of plastics requires huge quantities of oil and produces pollutants including greenhouse gases alternative sources of raw materials are required. This activity will enable students to explore how to make plastics and experiment with different...

This activity sheet describes a group activity designing and manufacturing smart packaging which uses thermochromatic pigments to show that the food product is at the correct temperature. The sheet also contains a profile of a mechanical development engineer.

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This resource aims at raising students' awareness of what engineers do and how the profession contributes to the world. The key activity for students is to define and discuss engineering as a career. There are also two case studies to use.

This activity is aimed at using a new material QTC (Quantum Tunnelling Composite). The aim of the activity is to encourage students to think creatively about new uses for this material. It can be used to make fabric switches for example and it has great potential for helping save on the space and weight that new...

This activity challenges stereotypes by asking students to draw and describe an engineer and then requiring them to explain their drawings together with discussing stereotypes. There are career profiles and further activities for teachers to pursue with their students.

In this activity, students are asked to analyse data to work out which form of personal transport is currently the least safe. They then consider what safety features are in use at the moment.

Students brainstorm and...

This maths-based challenge explores sustainable travel, developing student understanding of the effects that some modes of transport have on the environment and ways of reducing it.

Students are asked to compare alternative methods of transport by calculating journey times and their carbon footprints.  The...

These NASA materials describe hands-on science and engineering challenges for students, using space exploration as an engaging context. The activities are related to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite missions. Students design and build: *an air-powered...

In this activity, students consider how engineers build the hull of lifeboats so that they are light and strong. Students are challenged to construct a beam using cheese crackers, wafers, paperclips, bridge supports. They can consider building beams using a wider range of materials such as aluminium or wood beam...

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...

In this STEM club activity, students build their own smartphone projector using a mobile phone, shoebox and a magnifying lens.

This resource looks at some of the mathematics behind using solar panels to generate electricity both for use in the home and to power cars. The mathematics involved requires the calculation of complicated areas and using multiple bits of information to solve a problem. As such, the resource is ideal for enhancing...