Engineering Adventures®

Engineering Adventures® Units

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Grades 3–5

A Slippery Slope: Engineering an Avalanche Protection System

Kids design a system to hold or divert massive amounts of snow away from a town. 

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Grades 3–5

Light Up the Night: An Electrical Engineering Challenge 

Kids use circuits to design an electric light display that mimics the Northern Lights. 

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Grades 3–5

Hop to It: Safe Removal of Invasive Species 

Kids learn about an invasive species of toad and design a humane trap to catch it. 

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Grades 3–5

Liftoff: Engineering Rockets and Rovers 

Kids learn about NASA explorations and engineer their own model rockets and rovers. 

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Grades 3–5

Go Green: Engineering Recycled Racers 

Kids use recyclables to design and build toy vehicles for a Recycled Racer Rally. 

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Grades 3–5

Shake Things Up: Engineering Earthquake-Resistant Buildings 

Kids engineer earthquake-resistant model buildings and establish building codes for earthquake zones. 

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Grades 3–5

Bubble Bonanza: Engineering Bubble Wands 

Kids explore how bubbles behave and investigate which materials make good bubble wands. 

Retired Units

Retired Units are units for which the Materials Kit has been discontinued and is unavailable for purchase. Teacher Guides and media resources will continue to be digitally accessible free of charge.

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Grades 3–5

In Good Hands: Engineering Space Gloves

Kids design model space gloves to protect astronauts against space hazards. 

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Grades 3–5

Music to My Ears: An Acoustical Engineering Challenge 

Kids explore materials that reflect or absorb sound and then design devices to project sound. 

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Grades 3–5

The Sky’s the Limit: Engineering Flying Technologies 

Kids experiment with flying technologies and design devices to help take aerial photos. 

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Grades 3–5

To the Rescue: Engineering Aid Drop Packages 

Kids engineer packages to drop supplies from an aircraft into a disaster zone. 

Standards Alignment

See how EiE connects to state and national standards.

We’ve developed each EiE Engineering unit with careful attention to educational standards in both science and technology/engineering. Computer Science units align with state and national computer science standards.

Engineering Adventures Resources 

EiE has worked closely with educators to develop a suite of resources for each unit. Engineering Journals and Family Letters are provided in both English and Spanish. 

Resource Description
Educator Guide Contains six to nine 45-minute lessons. Each includes: 

  • Educator Preview with background information, materials list, preparatory instructions, and a preview of the student journal pages needed. 
  • An Adventure Guide with step-by-step instructions for implementing the activity. 
  • Discussion questions for learners to reflect on new ideas and share work with peers. 
Engineering Journal Pages where learners record their findings and reflect on their learning. 
Messages from the Duo  Audio files from the fictional characters India and Jacob set the stage for the day’s adventure.
Alternate Prep Adventures Alternate approaches for introducing the unit, for groups that complete multiple units in the series.  
Video and Resource Links  Links to optional additional resources to enrich and extend learner understanding.