
Activity Timing
5 min. Introduction
5 min. Identify and Investigate
20 min. Imagine, Plan, and Create
15 min. Test, Improve, and Communicate
10 min. Reflect
55 min. Total
Prep Snapshot
Prep Time 5 min
- Invite a family or community member to your program for the next Activity.
- Be sure to read the front matter of the Engineering Educator Guide prior to starting activities.
- Check the Guide, pg. 4 for important information about the model antenna.
This snapshot intended for quick reminders and is not a replacement of the guide. Be sure to use the guide for detailed preparation instructions and implementation scripts.
Glossary
Antenna: a structure that helps send and receive signals
Constraints: limits on a design
Criteria: things a successful design needs to do or have
Engineering: the use of creativity and knowledge of math and science to design things that solve problems
Engineering design process: a set of steps that engineers use to design things to solve a problem
Technology: an object, system, or process designed by people to solve a problem
21st Century Skills Connection
Collaboration
Habits of Mind
- Envision multiple solutions.
- Construct models and simulations.
Activity Overview
Youth engineer a tower to support a model antenna and reflect on the engineering design process they used.
Guiding Question
How can we design something to solve a problem?
Youth Will Do
- Youth will think like engineers to design technologies that solve problems.
- Youth will design their own engineering design process to solve a problem for their community.
Youth Will Know
- Engineers use an engineering design process as a tool to solve problems.
- Technology is any object, system, or process designed by people to solve a problem.
Additional Resources
Connecting Across Activities
- This activity establishes a baseline understanding of how an engineering design process creates technologies that solve problems.
- Next, in the Engineering Context-Setting Activity, they explore how engineers work together to design technologies to solve science problems.