Inquiry and Engineering Design

Scientific inquiry goes hand- in-hand with engineering design. Both involve experimentation, gathering data, analyzing and communicating those results to others. This article describes two... See More

Scientific inquiry goes hand- in-hand with engineering design. Both involve experimentation, gathering data, analyzing and communicating those results to others. This article describes two elementary educator’s results using a ‘whirligig’ paper toy to do a PBL in one classroom and to introduce design engineering in the other. This is a great introduction to both approaches.

A Fun STEM Activity

Students engage in a design challenge to create the best whirligig. They alter variables and engage in the engineering design process which aligns with science inquiry. The article describ... See More

Students engage in a design challenge to create the best whirligig. They alter variables and engage in the engineering design process which aligns with science inquiry. The article describes the whole challenge and provides a template for the object as well as the possible variables that can be altered. This might be a great way to start a school year.