Jared Torres

In this hands-on STEM activity, students will learn about what civil engineers do and that they must construct buildings to withstand earthquakes. Then, students will create their own "Shake Tables" to simulate an earthquake, atop which they will construct their very own tower of spaghetti and mini marshmallows. At the end of class, you will simulate the earthquake by shaking the table and seeing who has the tallest tower that withstands the tremor! You will need the following materials for each

In this lesson, students will learn what voltage, resistance, and current are, how they are measured, and how they relate to each other. For accelerated classes, you may even introduce “Ohm’s Law,” which allows students to calculate the current given voltage and resistance. First, a brief reading will introduce them to the concepts and vocabulary. Then, they will use an interactive computer simulation to build a circuit, adjust its parameters, and analyze the results. Included in the lesson is

***MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT*** Plastic binsPlastic cupsPlastic sandwich bags Duct tape Popsicle sticksSpongesSugar cubesWater!Students will use the engineering design process to design, build, test, and evaluate a flood barrier to protect their house (a sugar cube) from the oncoming flood. They will be given constraints - a limited budget, limited materials, limited time, and a few rules to abide by. This project typically takes two ~40 minute periods to complete. On the first day they

In this challenge, students will first learn about density by watching a short video and answering some questions. Then, they will use tin foil to create a boat and measure how effective it is by placing pennies inside one by one. Included is a google form in which students can access directions, watch the density video, watch an instructional/demonstration video, and upload a picture of their creation. Edit the google form to fit the needs of your class. The instructional video can be found h

In this project, students will design a product out of everyday household items of their choosing. The website used is called "Stuff Spinner," created by PBS kids. Included is a google form which gives the students instructions, a link to a video with more instructions and a demonstration, and a few reflection questions and a place to upload pictures of their creations. Some students do not have access to as many materials, so I assigned this as extra credit instead of grading it. You can adapt

Included is the packet I use for my bridge building project. For a sneak preview of the project, check out this link! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CGuBJV652sA Some materials are required for this project. Here's a link to the wooden sticks I used. The rest of the materials can be found at any craft store. https://www.pitsco.com/Competitions-Clubs-and-Programs/4-H/Bridges-Refill-Pack (The basswood is a bit harder to cut but much stronger. I would recommend that.)