K-12 Engineering Education Standards: - International Technology ...

More on Force and Energy
Extend your students’ learning with more hands-on
challenges. Look for these activities that let kids further
explore force and energy:
• Zip Line: Design a way to get a Ping-Pong ball from the
top to the bottom of a zip-line string.
• Launch It: Design an air-powered rocket that can hit a
distant target.
• Touchdown: Build a spacecraft with a shock absorber
that will protect marshmallow astronauts when they land.
• Roving on the Moon: Build a rubber-band-powered car
that can scramble across the room.
For more moon mission-inspired activities, check out
Design Squad Nation’s On the Moon activity guide,
developed in collaboration with NASA. Find it at
pbskidsgo.org/designsquadnation/parentseducators/
guides.
Jeff Hoffman’s Tech Ed students talk about On Target:
“I found out that to be an engineer, you need to keep an
open mind.” —Erika
“We tested it and made a few changes, then tested again
and it hit right on the target!” —Sarah
“The first model we made failed [but] we ended up coming
up with a really good model. We all pitched in on the idea,
because we each thought of a different part of it.” —Rachel
“This was a fun project. It taught us patience and to learn
how to work with people.”—Richie
Lauren Feinberg is an associate editor at
WGBH Boston. The activity featured in this
article was developed by the Educational
Outreach department in collaboration with
NASA. WGBH is PBS’s single largest producer
of TV and Web content, serving the nation
and the world with media resources that
inform, inspire, and entertain.
Celebrate National Engineers Week with Design Squad Nation
Ping-Pong balls will fly high when Design Squad Nation co-hosts,
Judy Lee and Adam Vollmer, lead kids in a super-sized version
of the Pop Fly activity at National Engineers Week (EWeek) in
Washington, DC this February 20-26. Every year, EWeek unites over
120 organizations, corporations, and agencies dedicated to raising
public awareness of engineers. But you don’t need to be at the event to
join the celebration and get your students excited about engineering.
Lead Pop Fly in your classroom and watch the Ping-Pong balls soar!
Everything you need is available at pbskidsgo.org/designsquadnation/
parentseducators. Look for other ways to get involved in EWeek at
www.eweek.org.
Design Squad Nation hosts Judy and Adam will launch this giant
Pop Fly at National Engineers Week’s kick off event—Discover
Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum in
Washington, DC on Saturday, February 19, 2011.
Ping-Pong is a registered trademark of Sop Services, Inc.
17 • Technology and Engineering Teacher • February 2011
On Target corresponds to ITEEA’s STL Content Standards 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 16.