Resources: Career and Technology Foundations Grades 5-9: Technology

Construction

Architecture at Home Resources
Nurture your budding architects through these free, online design activities. These easy to follow design projects use simple materials to get kids exploring building design, landscape design, interior design, skyscrapers and more.
BBC: Design and manufacture
This site has some ideas for classroom lessons/activities about design and manufacture.
Cool Puppy! A Doghouse Design Project
Students are given the engineering challenge to design and build doghouses that shelter a (toy) puppy from the heat—and to create them within material, size and cost constraints.
Eyeballing Game
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.
Free Woodworking Plans
This free woodworking plan website has been around since 1998. They have a huge collection of free plans.
Hardware and Fasteners
A playlist of videos from Home Depot that provide information about nails, screws, bolts, and more!
Super Shape
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!
TED: Blood, Concrete, and Dynamite: Building the Hoover Dam
Dig into the engineering of the Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River that supplies water to the US southwest.
TED: Building the Impossible: Golden Gate Bridge
Explore the construction of California’s Golden Gate Bridge, and dig into the engineering innovations that made the structure possible.
TED: Could We Build a Wooden Skyscraper?
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?
TED: How the World's First Metro System Was Built
Christian Wolmar explains how the London Underground was built at a time when no one had built a railway under a city before.
TED: How the World's Largest Skyscraper Was Built
Discover the engineering innovations that made building Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible.
TED: How the World's Longest Tunnel Was Built
Discover how the English Channel Tunnel was built and the engineering challenges of building a 200 kilometer long tunnel underwater.
TED: One of the Most Epic Engineering Feats in History
Dig into the history of the construction of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and how John Roebling designed a hybrid suspension system to build it.
TED: The effects of earthquakes in California vs China
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.
TED: The Mighty Mathematics of the Lever
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.
TED: What Is Stronger: Glue or Tape?
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?
TED: Why do buildings fall in earthquakes?
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.
TED: Will There Ever Be a Mile-High Skyscraper
Would a mile-high skyscraper ever be possible? Explore the physics behind some of the tallest buildings and megastructures in the world.
This to That
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.
Triangles: Testing the Strength of a Gumdrop Dome
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.
ZOOM | Designing a Paper Bridge
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.

Electro-Technologies

Building a Motor
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...
Circuit Construction Kit (DC Only)
This activity gives students a chance to build circuits with resistors, light bulbs, batteries, and switches. Students can also take measurements with the ammeter and voltmeter.
Circuit Construction Kit: DC
Design your own circuits with this digital electronic kit.
Determining Ohm's Law
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)
Electricity Simulations: Circuits Level 1
Connect the wires to the battery and the lights to make different things happen
Electricity Simulations: Circuits Level 2
Feeling ready to level up? Try making these harder circuits work.
Electronics Lab
Explore the projects (with description, parts, and schematics) available on this site: Arduino, audio, robots, microcontroller, motor control and more.
Fritzing
Fritzing is an open-source hardware initiative that makes electronics accessible as a creative material for anyone.
How to Build a Simple Electrical Circuit
An electrical circuit is a pathway where electricity can flow. In this at-home science activity, Alissa teaches kids how to make a super simple circuit using a battery that will light up a bulb!
Instructables: Circuits
This is a collection of ideas and instructions for circuit projects and 3D printing.
Khan Academy: Lego Robotics
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.
Kiddle: Alternating Current Fact for Kids
An overview article for students about alternating current and how it works.
Kiddle: Direct Current Fact for Kids
An article for students that explains direct current and how it works
Modifying Electrochemical Cells
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.
Past And The Present: The History And Evolution Of Robots
Robots have been in use for centuries, with the first instances dating back to 350 BC. The word robot was first used in the early 1900s, and since then, robots have come a long way. Learn more about them here!
PBS Curious Crew: Electrical Circuits
Human conductivity, electrical resistance, series & parallel circuits and more! The Curious Crew learns how all circuits have three things: a power source, a conductor and a load.
PBS Curious Crew: Electric Batteries
Human batteries, electric lemon, potato possibilities and more! The Curious Crew learns that batteries are used to change chemical energy into electrical energy.
PBS Curious Crew: Electric Lights
“Watts” up, Dr. Rob? The Curious Crew “brightens up” on the science behind lights!
PBS Curious Crew: Electric Motors
Suspended spinners and battery trains! Rev up your engines as the crew and Dr. Rob explore the power behind Electric Motors!
PBS Curious Crew: Static Electricity
Staticized balloons and Van de Graff fun! A “shocking” lesson on static electricity with the Curious Crew.
Power It Up
This activity guides students through the process of creating a working battery using common household resources.
PowerUp: 11 and Under
Well, you're in just the right place to find out about staying safe with electricity! We've also got lots of great stuff for you to learn!
Static Discharge
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).
TED: Electric Vocabulary
This video provides a history of discoveries related to electricity and how the words "electric, "electricity", and "batteries" came into use.
TED: How Do Wind Turbines Work?
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?
Troubleshooting Electric Circuits
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.
What is Alternating Current (AC)?
A more advance article for students about the differences between alternating and direct current.
What is an Electrochemical Cell?
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.
What is Electricity? Where does Electricity come from?
In this 13 minute video we will learn all about electricity. Your student(s) will learn about lightning, power plants, Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). We even talk about when electricity was discovered and go over topics like conductors and insulators.
Whirling Windmills
Can you design and construct a windmill to harness the power of the wind?

Logistics

Fidgits to the Rescue
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.
TED: How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse?
Where do you go during a zombie apocalypse? Learn some key geography skills about how people, resources, and ideas travel.

Mechanics

Engineer a Jetliner
A set of student design missions from PBS. Students will learn to design a jet liner and consider budget and fuel efficiency.
PBS Curious Crew: Mechanical Energy
Mechanical energy is the combined potential and kinetic energy in an object that enables work to occur through the movement of another object. Learn how energy is stored and released in everyday objects.
PBS Curious Crew: Torque
Candle see-saws, balanced meter sticks, ‘getting a grip’ and more! The Curious Crew explores how the force of torque helps us turn and leverage things.
Spitfire HF9 TD314 Cockpit
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.
TED: The Mighty Mathematics of the Lever
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.

Related Kits available in your ATA Library

Click the bolded link to find the kit in our library catalogue and request it from our library. Click the sub-links to see how the technology can be used in the classroom.

Air+Water Power PLUS Pneumatic-Hydraulic Kit