Fun and Easy Lessons for Engineering Week

Next Tuesday I will be hosting a webinar with Engineering Ireland and Galway Education Centre where I will share three different engineering lessons and activities for different class levels with resources. They will be simple and easy to implement! In the mean time, I am going to share a few simple ideas here if you have infants or maybe first/ second class.

Block Bridges:

This is a simple and effective lesson that requires building bridges using blocks, Lego, or even everyday items like books and paper cups. Start by showing how bridges help cars and people cross gaps, and then challenge the students to design their own bridges that can hold a small toy or car. Students will experiment with different structures, learning about balance and stability. You can encourage them to test their bridges by adding weight and seeing how much they can hold before they collapse. They will learn basic engineering principles like stability, balance, and testing designs.

Paper Aeroplane Challenge:

Teach about aerodynamics and the design process.

Start by having a discussion about flight—why airplanes can fly and how engineers design them to be safe and fast. Then, give students different types of paper (coloured, plain, etc.) and let them design their own paper airplanes. Test their designs by flying them and seeing which ones fly the farthest or the straightest. This lesson can evolve into a mini experiment where students tweak their designs to see what changes help improve the plane’s flight.

Build a New Home for a Toy:

Discuss the different types of materials used in engineering, like wood, metal, and plastic, and how engineers choose the right material for the job. Then, challenge the students to build a house or shelter for a toy animal using a variety of materials. You can provide materials like cardboard, fabric, straws, or even marshmallows and toothpicks. As they build, encourage them to think about which materials will make the strongest structure and why. Once their houses are built, have a “grand tour” where each student presents their design and explains why they chose certain materials.

Design a Boat:

This lesson introduces the concept of buoyancy in a simple and fun way. Provide students with different materials (e.g., tin foil, paper, plastic, sponges) and ask them to create boats that can float in a shallow container of water. The challenge is for the students to design a boat that holds the most weight without sinking. After testing their boats, encourage them to modify their designs based on what worked or didn’t work. This is a great way to introduce the idea that engineers have to test and refine their design.