Career and Technology Foundations Grades 5-9

Can you tell if something is square or level? This game shows shapes that need a slight adjustment. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is 'right'. Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your accuracy.

This free woodworking plan website has been around since 1998. They have a huge collection of free plans.

Eric builds a big house of cards and a super strong bridge using triangles made of paper straws! It's not magic, it's science!

Towering 85 meters above the Norwegian countryside, Mjøstårnet is the world’s tallest wooden building, made almost entirely from the trees of neighboring forests. But as recently as the end of the 20th century, engineers thought it was impossible to build a wooden building over 6 stories tall. So how do wooden structures like this compare to steel and concrete skyscrapers?

Discover the engineering innovations that made building Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible.

Discover how the English Channel Tunnel was built and the engineering challenges of building a 200 kilometer long tunnel underwater.

Earthquakes happen all over the world. Where you live might determine how severe the damage might be. Watch this short video to see how different the results of an earthquake can be and why these outcomes varied.

Archimedes once said “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.” While the idea of a person moving such a huge mass on their own might sound impossible, chances are you’ve seen this idea in action at your local playground.

The oldest glue in the world is over 8,000 years old and comes from a cave near the Dead Sea. Today, we have enough types of tape and glue to build and repair almost anything. But what gives glue and tape their stickiness? And is one stronger than the other?

Earthquakes can be scary and dangerous — with collapsing buildings posing one of the largest risks. Why do buildings collapse in an earthquake? How can it be prevented? Learn the physics of why it is not the sturdiest buildings, but the smartest, that will remain standing.

Would a mile-high skyscraper ever be possible? Explore the physics behind some of the tallest buildings and megastructures in the world.

This is a helpful tool to help you figure out what kind of glue you need. Put in the two items that you are trying to glue together to get tips and products that would work best.

Students construct simple structures based on the light-but-strong design of the geodesic dome using gumdrops and toothpicks. These gumdrop domes help demonstrate that some shapes, like triangles, are inherently strong while others, like squares, are comparatively weak.

The activities presented in this video segment adapted from ZOOM demonstrate the properties of several bridge designs modeled using just a sheet of paper, some books, and lots of pennies.

Learn the functions performed by the parts of a direct current (DC) electric motor by manipulating and assembling the component parts (commutator, armature, power source, and magnet). Investigate the most effective arrangement of component parts by manipulating the magnetic field strength along with...

Design your own circuits with this digital electronic kit.

Manipulate a simple direct current (DC) circuit to explore the relationships between current, voltage, and resistance. Your collected evidence can be saved and graphed to illustrate these relationships. A glossary is also included in the resource. (site)

Connect the wires to the battery and the lights to make different things happen

Feeling ready to level up? Try making these harder circuits work.

Fritzing is an open-source hardware initiative that makes electronics accessible as a creative material for anyone.

Explore changes in voltage and current when modifying the main components (electrodes, electrolytes) and the conditions (concentration and temperature of electrolyte solution) in an electrochemical cell.

Learn how electrons are transferred from object to object and how the electrical charge of the object changes. Static charges are investigated with an animation of common materials and are tested with an electroscope (an instrument used for detecting the presence of static electric charge).

Every 24 hours, wind generates enough kinetic energy to produce roughly 35 times more electricity than humanity uses each day. And unlike coal or oil, this resource is totally renewed each day. So how can we harness this incredible amount of energy, and is it possible to create a world powered entirely by wind?

Here's a toy car that works with only one headlight. Apply your knowledge and skills regarding ammeters and voltmeters to solve this electrical problem.

Explore the function and components (chemicals, electrolytes, electrodes, and terminals) of electrochemical wet cells and dry cells. Then construct a wet cell in a virtual lab. The resource also explains how cells create a potential difference and an electric current at the molecular level.

Find lessons (with videos) for building a light guitar, coin detector, and ant bot with Lego Robotics. Learn about the programming and science behind each creation.

Students become product engineers in a bouncy ball factory as they design and prototype a polymer bouncy ball that meets specific requirements: must be spherical in shape, cannot disintegrate when thrown on the ground, and, of course, must bounce.

Can you tell if something is square or level? This game shows shapes that need a slight adjustment. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is 'right'. Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your accuracy.

Many people have never attempted to build their own furniture. But a young designer named Nick demonstrates a painless process for designing and constructing attractive, sturdy chairs from cardboard.

A free-to-download software that lets students build with virtual lego.

Activities and videos from PBS that challenge students to think about developing green technology.

This interactive gives you a chance to explore metal at its atomic level. The tightly packed atoms give metal its special characteristics and determine how metal reacts against the stress of heat and outside forces.

The oldest glue in the world is over 8,000 years old and comes from a cave near the Dead Sea. Today, we have enough types of tape and glue to build and repair almost anything. But what gives glue and tape their stickiness? And is one stronger than the other?

This is a helpful tool to help you figure out what kind of glue you need. Put in the two items that you are trying to glue together to get tips and products that would work best.

Help keep the Fidgits safe during a hurricane or earthquake. You need to design a way to bring emergency supplies to the trapped Fidgits. You'll need to design and build to get to the Fidgits.

Where do you go during a zombie apocalypse? Learn some key geography skills about how people, resources, and ideas travel.

Experience the engineering design process as an aerospace engineer assigned to design and test an airplane. Determine which wing and engine configuration is best suited to each mission. Find airworthy, low-cost, and fuel-efficient designs.

Explore the cockpit of this Spitfire airplane used in WWII. Hover over the dials to learn about them. You can drag down, up and to the sides to explore more of the plane.

Archimedes once said “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.” While the idea of a person moving such a huge mass on their own might sound impossible, chances are you’ve seen this idea in action at your local playground.