Student groups use the Java programming language to implement the algorithms for optical character recognition (OCR) that they developed in the associated lesson. They use different Java classes (provided) to test and refine their algorithms. The ultimate goal is to produce computer code that recognizes a digit on a scoreboard. Through this activity, students experience a very small part of what software engineers go through to create robust OCR methods. This software design lesson/activity set is designed to be part of a Java programming class.

Through two lessons and five activities, students explore the structure and function of cell membranes. Specific transport functions, including active and passive transport, are presented. In the legacy cycle tradition, students are motivated with a Grand Challenge question. As they study the ingress and egress of particles through membranes, students learn about quantum dots and biotechnology through the concept of intracellular engineering.

Students are presented with a real-life problem as a challenge to investigate, research and solve. Specifically, they are asked to investigate why salt water helps a sore throat, and how engineers apply this understanding to solve other problems. Students read a medical journal article and listen to an audio talk by Dr. Z. L. Wang to learn more about quantum dots. After students reflect and respond to the challenge question, they conduct the associated activity to perform journaling and brainstorming.

This 2-page color fact sheet briefly describes NASA's Kepler mission, its instruments, and ground system. Also included are tables listing the instrument parameters and the major institutions involved. Kepler is a spaceborne telescope specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Note: The fact sheets states that the Kepler Telescope was launched in 2007 but did not launch until 2009.

This is a website about asteroids and comets. Learners can play a physics-based asteroid game, learn about how backyard astronomers are contributing to asteroid research, or simulate an asteroid impact using a Google Earth Impact simulation. Includes background information about comets and asteroids and links to multimedia resources.

Students use a LEGO® ball shooter to demonstrate and analyze the motion of a projectile through use of a line graph. This activity involves using a method of data organization and trend observation with respect to dynamic experimentation with a complex machine. Also, the topic of line data graphing is covered. The main objective is to introduce students graphs in terms of observing and demonstrating their usefulness in scientific and engineering inquiries. During the activity, students point out trends in the data and the overall relationship that can be deduced from plotting data derived from test trials with the ball shooter.

Join the ladybug in an exploration of rotational motion. Rotate the merry-go-round to change its angle, or choose a constant angular velocity or angular acceleration. Explore how circular motion relates to the bug's x,y position, velocity, and acceleration using vectors or graphs.

This lesson focuses on the importance of airplanes in today's society. Airplanes of all shapes and sizes are used for hundreds of different reasons, including recreation, commercial business, public transportation, and delivery of goods, among many others. From transporting people to crop-dusting, our society and our economy have come to depend on airplanes. Students will discuss their own experiences with airplanes and learn more about the role of airplanes in our world.

This is an activity about rockets. Learners will research facts about Atlas V rockets, which will launch the MMS satellites. After, they will compute the speed of the launch rocket, given a data chart of time vs. distance from lift-off. Then, they will write a report synthesizing their researched information. This lesson requires student access to internet accessible computers. This is lesson two as part of the MMS Mission Educator's Instructional Guide.

These amazing and engaging videos are made by teacher Kim Preshoff to teach her students about a variety of topics including: smog, visualization of a million, population pyramid, diversity, life cycle of plastic, adaptations, and continental collision.

You can even pitch an idea for a video here at this link: https://ed.ted.com/get_involved

Students observe and discuss a vacuum cleaner model of a baghouse to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.

Working as a team, students discover that the value of pi (3.1415926...) is a constant and applies to all different sized circles. The team builds a basic robot and programs it to travel in a circular motion. A marker attached to the robot chassis draws a circle on the ground as the robot travels the programmed circular path. Students measure the circle's circumference and diameter and calculate pi by dividing the circumference by the diameter. They discover the pi and circumference relationship; the circumference of a circle divided by the diameter is the value of pi.

This site brings STEM discovery home. Let's Talk Science has a great selection of resources and activities for engaging children and youth at home. Check back often as more learning resource collections are added every week!

In this lesson, students learn about the physical properties of the Moon. They compare these to the properties of the Earth to determine how life would be different for astronauts living on the Moon. Using their understanding of these differences, they are asked to think about what types of products engineers would need to design for us to live comfortably on the Moon.

This is a game about light curves that will test your ability to figure out things about an asteroid from just a graph of its brightness. Astronomers use telescopes to collect light curves - measurements of the brightness of distant asteroids over time. It is part of the Killer Asteroids Web Site. The site also features a background overview of the differences between asteroids and comets, information on different types of asteroids (rubble piles vs monoliths), a discussion of how at risk Earth really is to an asteroid or comet impact, and background information on light curves.

This lesson plan will provide a concrete way for students to understand the concept of distance in space equals distance in time. This is done using information gathered from a timeline activity in Lesson 1: Earth, the Universe, and Culture. Students experiment with how distances are measured in space and create timelines to demonstrate the concept distance in space equals distance in time. This lesson is part of the "Swift: Eyes Through Time" collection that is available on the Teacher's Domain website.

Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your fuel runs out, as Neil Armstrong did in 1969? Our version of this classic video game accurately simulates the real motion of the lunar lander with the correct mass, thrust, fuel consumption rate, and lunar gravity. The real lunar lander is very hard to control.

This is an activity about spacecraft design. Teams of learners will model how scientists and engineers design and build spacecraft to collect, store, and transmit data to earth. Teams will design a system to store and transmit topographic data of the Moon and then analyze that data and compare it to data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter .

Maker Stations provide targeted design thinking challenges for elementary students, emphasizing skills in engineering, art, math, science, technology, and music. 15
Maker Station options are provided for 3 weeks of daily home activities. Each Maker Station includes simplified supply lists, instructions, scannable QR code resources, and student planning/reflection templates. App extensions are provided for students to share and present creations virtually.

This is a lithograph about NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, or MMS. Learners will cut out and assemble a colorful 3D model of an MMS spacecraft. Web links, additional facts, and QR codes are included for audiences to access more information.