The physical sciences, like chemistry, physics, and astronomy, explore the concepts and processes of the nonliving physical world. Our resources in this area include more traditional science experiments as well as our signature Design Challenge Learning approach, which integrates engineering.
Lesson titles below marked with an asterisk (*) address engineering within the Next Generation Science Standards.
Algae String
Design and create colorful string creations from a natural polymer, alginate.
Duration: Lesson - 150 minutes; Activity - 2 hours
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home Activity
Cabbage Inks
Students explore the chemistry of acids and bases as they create their own rainbow of colorful paints from red cabbage.
Duration: 120 minutes
Grades: 3-12
Tech at Home activity
Green Pennies
Experiment with different oxidizing compounds to turn pennies green…and back to copper.
Duration: 30 minutes of set-up, 5 days of observation
Grades: 5-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Cooking with the Sun*
Engineer a solar oven and use solar energy and radiation to warm a chosen food item.
Duration: 40 minutes to build, 1 hour to “cook”
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Energy at Play*
Build a device that can move a ball to a target while exploring energy transfer.
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Grades: 3-6
Lesson Plan
Energy Madness*
Design a machine that can deliver a remote control to an immobile friend.
Duration: Six 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Save the Hiker*
Build a device that will deliver life-saving treatment to someone in a hazardous situation.
Duration: Six 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Go Rover Go*
Learn how modifying building materials can convert potential energy into kinetic energy.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Count the Seconds*
This lesson prepares students for the 2022 Tech Challenge, presented by Amazon. Students design a device that can track a specific amount of time and indicate when that time has passed with a sound or visual signal. They iterate their designs and prototypes to improve repeatability.
Duration: 90 minutes
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Exploring Chain Reactions*
Explore concepts around simple machines and energy transfer by building components for chain reactions.
Duration: Lesson: 60 minutes; Activity: 30 minutes
Grades: 4-8
Educator Guide Tech Challenge guide
Circle of Pong*
Explore forces of motion, potential and kinetic energy in order to place a ball in the center of a six-foot circle.
Duration: 45 minutes
Grades: 3-12
Lesson Plan
Hover Design*
Build, test and modify hovering devices in a wind tunnel to expand knowledge of design and aerodynamics.
Duration: 50-60 minutes
Grades: 3-12
Lesson Plan Video
Weight Distribution and Flight*
Conduct weight distribution experiments with paper airplanes to gather information for a short presentation.
Duration: Two 60-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan Tech Challenge activity Video
Investigating Lift*
Build a device to explore the force of lift in a hovercraft.
Duration: 65-80 minutes
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan
Engineering Takes Flight*
Explore the different flight characteristics of materials while designing an aircraft.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Aim High!*
Explore angles and trajectories to determine optimal angle and height to launch a paper rocket through a target.
Duration: 75 minutes
Grades: 4-12
Lesson Plan
Cooking with the Sun*
Engineer a solar oven and use solar energy and radiation to warm a chosen food item.
Duration: 40 minutes to build, 1 hour to “cook”
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
The Math Behind Circuits
Build and explore different types of circuits and make calculations to gain practical skills in building, visualizing and understanding circuits.
Duration: Two 55-minute sessions
Grades: 4-6
Lesson Plan
Building for Birdie*
Apply knowledge of shapes to build a bird home that is structurally sound.
Duration: Lesson: 60 minutes; Unit: 150 minutes; Activity: 30 minutes
Grades: K-2
Lesson Plan Unit Tech at Home activity
Engineering for Earthquakes*
In this design challenge, you’ll engineer a structure and see if it can survive an earthquake you create!
Duration: 60 minutes
Grades: 3-5
Lesson Plan Tech Challenge activity Tech at Home activity
Engineering Journals*
Practice writing and documentation skills, whether in-person or virtual, with this journaling lesson.
Duration: 60 minutes
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan Video
Paper Engineering*
Practice and improve the precision of learners’ journaling skills by having teams build a paper table based on another team’s engineering journal.
Duration: 60 minutes
Grades: 3-8
Lesson Plan
Escape the Lava*
Design a device to rescue researchers from a lava flow.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Bridging the Gap*
Build a bridge over a variety of terrains to determine how different designs affect stability and strength.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Wildfire Warning*
Design a wind detection device, an anemometer, that could warn community members of the strength and direction of high winds during a wildfire.
Duration: Lesson: 90 minutes; Unit: 150 minutes
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan Unit
Cupcake Delivery*
In this design challenge, you will create wind-powered contraptions to transport a load. At The Tech, we use 3D-printed cupcakes as our load, but you can use just about any small object.
Duration: 30+ minutes for The Tech at Home activity, 60 minutes for the lesson plan
Grades: K-12
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Animal Rescue*
Teams gather information and scientific evidence to design a device that will help move endangered animals from one protected area to another.
Duration: Eight to ten 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4-8
Lesson Plan
Solve the Fall*
During this engineering-based lesson, learners design and build a device that can survive a drop in order to deliver emergency supplies.
Duration: 50 minutes
Grades: K-12
Lesson Plan Tech at Home activity
Balloon Astronaut*
Design spacesuits that can withstand the hazards of high velocity impact from space debris and meteoroids.
Duration: 45 minutes
Grades: 2-8
Lesson Plan
Just Dropping In*
Explore how expansion is related to movement by designing a device that controls the movement of a dropped ball.
Duration: 65 minutes
Grades: 4-12
Lesson Plan Video
