Resources
This page lists additional resources to help you find materials for your Tech Challenge solution; learn about federal and state standards and how they relate to our program; and find out more about how The Tech Challenge can help students develop 21st-century skills.
These lessons were developed to support school and afterschool programs as they engage all students in engineering, and to help build up to The Tech Challenge 2018. They were designed and written by members of the Tech Academies of Innovation for students in Grades 4-8.
Escape the Lava
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Students will design devices to help “Justin Case” escape lava by using items in their backpacks to get Justin from one tree to another. Students will use the knowledge they gain from this engineering design challenge to practice the skills, vocabulary, and presentation techniques of engineers.
Energy Madness
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How can we design a machine that will deliver a remote control to an immobile friend?
Mayday on Mars
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Engineers often run into technical issues with their devices and engineering solutions can be helpful in these emergency situations. Can you build a device to help engineers move their device to a specific target without using any powered sources?
Save the Hiker
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Can you build a device that will deliver life-saving treatment to someone in a hazardous situation?
There are many ways to relate The Tech Challenge to what your students are doing in the classroom.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
The Tech Challenge aligns with the engineering design standards, a core idea of California Education Standards for K-12.
The design process — engineers’ basic approach to problem-solving — involves many practices. They include problem definition, model development and use, investigation, analysis and interpretation of data, application of mathematics and computational thinking, and determination of solutions. These engineering practices incorporate specialized knowledge about criteria and constraints, modeling and analysis, and optimization and trade-offs.
Read the engineering design standards:
More about engineering design from NGSS (PDF)
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
What is the difference between the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science and the NGSS?
The CCSS Literacy Standards were written to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening and language in various fields — in this case, science. The literacy standards do not replace science standards; they supplement them. The NGSS lays out the core ideas and practices in science that students should master in preparation for college and careers.
The Tech Challenge aligns with standards in reading, writing, speaking and reading.
The Tech Challenge helps students build 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication and teamwork. To learn more about 21st-century skills, click here.
To search for materials to build your device, start with:
Other options you may wish to consider:
Home Depot
Click here for locations.
Lowe's
Click here for locations.
Orchard Supply Hardware
Click here for locations.
Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT)
This store is open only to educators. Ask your teacher if he or she is a member.
1355 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose, CA 95131
408-451-1420
101 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City, CA 94065
650-802-5505
Tap Plastics
Click here for locations.
Online stores
American Science and Surplus
Acceleration: The measurement of the change in an object's velocity as it goes faster. Example: you drop your device from your homemade test rig. As your device travels toward the floor, it speeds up, or accelerates.
Adviser: A person at least 18 years old who monitors safety, acts as a mentor and who may provide things like transportation and snacks. Your team should only have one adviser, and he or she shouldn't give you all the answers or do the project for you.
Battery: A container that stores energy until it's needed. No batteries allowed in Drop & Dash!
Brainstorming: Coming up with ideas — sometimes crazy ones — for a solution to a problem. It's possible to brainstorm on your own, but most find it works best as a team activity.
Capacitor: A capacitor is similar to a battery. Both store energy, but a battery uses a chemical reaction while a capacitor uses an electrical field to work. That's an oversimplification, and you can learn more here. The main thing you need to know is that, like batteries, capacitors aren't allowed in Drop & Dash.
Constraints: A control or limit to a design. For example, a constraint in the 2018 challenge is that your device can't weigh more than 3 pounds.
Design: The creation of a plan for the construction of your device. Sometimes used to refer to the device itself.
Device: The gizmo you and your team are designing, engineering and building for The Tech Challenge.
Elevation view: A 2D view of an object or structure seen from the front, rear or side.
Energy: The ability to do work (See WORK below — it's not what you think!) Energy exists in many forms: potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear and others. For Drop & Dash, we're mostly concerned with kinetic and potential energy.
Engineer: A person who designs, constructs and tests devices, materials and systems while considering constraints caused by safety, practicality, rules and cost.
Engineering analysis: Looking at a problem using scientific analytic principles and processes so you can see the properties of what you are designing. To start, break down a problem into its basic parts to look at relationships between its pieces and things other than your device.
Engineering Design Process: A series of steps engineers follow when creating devices, products or processes. Once you get started, the steps don't have to be followed in order. For example, if your device fails, your team can always go back to brainstorming to solve that problem. We use ScienceBuddies.org's chart to talk about the Engineering Design Process.
Engineering journal: A record of all the brainstorming, research, prototyping and other work that goes into developing your team's device.
Failure: Sometimes you feel this when your device doesn't work, but a big part of engineering is finding failure points and fixing them. So running into a roadblock with your device is an opportunity to use your engineering brain to make your device even better.
Failure point: When a break in a system causes a device to work improperly or not to work at all. One of the jobs of an engineer is to find failure points so they can fix them, and it's one of the reasons we test again and again.
Final design: The final plan for the construction of your device, agreed upon by the whole team. The team develops the final plan after brainstorming, prototyping and testing again and again. Sometimes this term is used instead of Final Device.
Final device: The device your team will bring to the showcase — the product of all your team's brainstorming, designing, prototyping, testing and re-testing.
Force: Force gets an object moving or changes its direction. If you throw a ball you are pushing it, or applying force. What can makes this complicated is that many forces —gravity, friction and more — can be working on that ball at the same time.
Friction: When one object rubs against another, it creates friction. What happens when you and another person try to go through a door at the same time? You probably bump up against each other, causing friction, which makes it difficult for either of you to get through the door.
Gravity: The force caused when the mass of physical bodies attract one another. In other words, the force that keeps us and all our stuff from zooming off into space.
Inertia: The resistance of any physical object to changes in its state of motion; this includes changes to its speed, direction, or state of rest. See Newton's First Law of Motion.
Innovator: Someone who creates something new or makes changes to something that already exists in order to meet a specific need. For example, you and your team as you design, engineer and build a device to survive a drop and travel some distance without using batteries.
Iteration: The different versions of the device you build as it changes due to the Engineering Design Process.
Kinetic energy: The energy an object has due to its motion. Anything that moves has energy. And everything in the universe moves, even if it moves super slow.
Living document: A document that is continually being updated. For example, your engineering journal.
Magnitude: This is a number assigned to something on a scale so that it can be measured and compared to another number on a scale. For example, if you're trying to tell how hot it is outside, 106 degrees is a greater magnitude than 85 degrees. Similarly, you know it's cold out if it's 20 degrees — much colder than if it was 106.
Mass: The measurement of how much matter is in an object.
Matter: Anything that takes up space. Matter can be made of something solid, or a liquid or gas (or even some other things too difficult to explain here).
Mechanics: The physics of forces acting on objects, such as the effect gravity will have on the device you build and forces you'll need to harness to get the device up the incline.
Momentum: A measurement of mass in motion. Any object in motion has momentum.
Newton, Isaac: Who is this Newton person? You've probably heard the story of Newton and the apple, which may or may not exactly be true. There are many famous and influential physicists throughout history, but Newton's the one who developed the laws of motion (and a lot of other things) that have informed our understanding of the physical universe. There are tons of great books about him. See Books & Videos (on this page) to see just a few.
Newton's First Law of Motion: A moving object will keep moving in the same direction unless external forces make it change direction or stop. Anything not moving will stay that way until something else makes it move. For example, throwing a ball puts it into motion. Catching a ball stops it.
Newton's Second Law of Motion: The greater the mass of an object, the more force it will take to accelerate the object. This is why it's harder to throw a bowling ball than a beach ball (don't be throwing bowling balls!)
Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A ball you throw into the air will eventually come down, right?
Perseverance: Not giving up in the face of failure. Your team may experience setbacks, but it doesn't have to give up. Getting past those failures can be fun and rewarding.
Physics: The study of matter, forces and their effects. Basically, the study of everything in the universe.
Pit: The area where, during the showcase days in April, you and your team will make your final preparations before judging.
Plan view: A drawing of an object or space viewed from above. For example, a floor plan.
Potential Energy: The energy stored by an object due to its state or position. Dangle something above the ground. That object will do something if you drop it, so it has potential energy. Clue: the dangling object's potential energy is related to the height at which it's held.
Repeatability: The ability of your device to demonstrate the same results under the same conditions, i.e. to work every time you test it.
Safety: Your No. 1 priority! Safety involves using tools correctly, wearing your hardhat and goggles when working on and testing your device, and more. While your team should appoint a safety monitor, everyone on the team is responsible for safety!
Solution: The design your team builds for The Tech Challenge.
Speed: How fast an object moves. If you're trying to figure out how long a ball will take to get somewhere, speed doesn't tell the whole story — you also need a direction. See VELOCITY for more info.
Spirit of the Challenge: The Tech Challenge emphasizes the importance of engineering solutions that would be practical in real life. Test rigs involve small-scale replication of real-world conditions. Teams should develop designs that represent real-life solutions. The Spirit of the Challenge is an important factor in scoring. The best engineering journals document an understanding of real-world factors and contain a detailed explanation of how your design might have practical, real-life applications. Teams should expect judges to press them on this issue and will be asked questions such as “How would your design work in real life?” A good explanation of how their design approach is compatible with the Spirit of the Challenge will have a positive influence on the team’s score. While store-bought solutions are not prohibited, they are not in the Spirit of the Challenge.
State of Rest: A object is said to be at rest if it does not change its position with respect to its surroundings. For example, a ball on the ground is in a state of rest until you move it.
Stored energy: See POTENTIAL ENERGY.
Test rig: The platform where your team will test its device. The Tech Challenge designs an official test rig, and we provide instructions for a simple version you can build at home or school.
Transfer of energy: Work transfers energy from one object to another. Example: when you throw that ball you're transferring energy from your hand to the ball.
Trigger: A trigger is a gizmo to start the device movement. After device setup, human power may start movement by releasing/pushing/pulling a trigger but not by pushing, pulling or lifting the device itself. This is also an important safety factor.
Velocity: The rate of motion in a specific direction. A great baseball pitcher might throw the ball at 100 miles-per-hour. This is the velocity of the ball because it's going in a particular direction (if you throw a ball it has to go somewhere, right?)
Weight: The force of gravity on an object. Gravity's always at work, so even if there's no one around to catch the ball you throw, eventually the ball will stop when it falls to the ground.
Work: In physics, work occurs when a force is applied to and moves an object. See also TRANSFER OF ENERGY.
Sources: Britannica.com, BritannicaKids.com, Ducksters, Engineering-Dictionary.org, Kids ESB, KidsNet.AU, Physics4Kids.com, Ron Kurtus' School for Champions, Wikipedia.
Teach Engineering
University of Colorado, Boulder's excellent site includes over 1,500 challenges and activities. Designed principally for educators.
Physics4Kids
No activities, but clear explanations of complex subjects.
Ducksters
A good site focusing on a wide variety of topics. Their physics pages offer good explanations of complex subjects, as well as a few activities.
Ron Kurtus' School for Champions
Physics lessons intended for working adults, though the reading level is that of older or more sophisticated students.
Free Engineering Dictionary
A real rabbit hole. Not only are there clear explanations of sometimes complex subjects, there's a list of additional resources that can keep you surfing for hours.
ThoughtCo
Entertaining article on movies that got their physics right.
Popular Mechanics
Some movies that ignored the laws of physics - and a couple that got it right.
100 Amazing Videos for Teaching & Studying Physics
Some great videos on this list. Check it out!
NASA
Parachutes on Mars? This is how it's done!
How Stuff Works
Here's a great explanation of how roller coasters work.
Explain That Stuff!
Roller coasters = potential energy.
Physics Class
Top Ten Real Life Examples of Physics Concepts.
TutorVista
Ten examples of forces in everyday life. A good starting point for those with little understanding of physics.
Technovelgy
Science fiction writers' inventions and the stories and novels in which they first appeared. FYI H.G. Wells invented the automatic sliding door.
Space Elevator Wiki
A wiki just about space elevators. Rabbit hole!
BOOKS
These books are either available at your local library or inexpensively through Amazon.
Thank you to the staff and customers of Borderlands Books for their help in compiling this list.
Biographies:
Christensen, Bonnie
"I, Galileo"
Knopf, 2012.
Grades 4-7
Fisher, Leonard Everett
"Galileo"
Atheneum, 1992.
Grades 4-6
Gleick, James
"Isaac Newton"
Vintage, 2004.
Grades 7-12
Krull, Kathleen
"Isaac Newton"
Penguin Puffin, 2008.
Grades 3-7
Ottaviani, Jim and various artists
"Dignifying Science: Stories About Women Scientists"
G.T. Labs, 2009.
Grades 4-12
Ottaviani, Jim and various artists
"Two-Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists"
G.T. Labs, 2001.
Grades 4-12
Panchyk, Richard
"Galileo for Kids: His Life & Ideas"
Chicago Review Press, 2005.
Grades 4-12
Engineering:
Akiyama, Lance
"Rubber Band Engineer: Build Slingshot Powered Rockets, Rubber Band Rifles, Unconventional Catapults, and More Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware"
Rockport, 2016.
Grades 4-12
Anderson, Maxine
"Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions: You Can Build Yourself"
Nomad Press, 2006.
Grades 4-6
Cook, Eric
"Prototyping - 21st Century Skills Innovation Library"
Cherry Lake Publishing, 2015.
Grades 5-8
Eboch, Chris
"Amazing Feats of Mechanical Engineering"
Essential Library, 2014.
Grade 4-12
Fontichiaro, Kristin
"Design Thinking (21st Century Skills Innovation Library)"
Cherry Lake, 2015.
Grades 4-8
Holzner, PhD, Steven
"Physics Essentials for Dummies"
Wiley, 2010.
Grades 4-12
Kerr, Bob
"Mechanical Harry"
Gareth Stevens, 1999.
Grades 4-5
Langone, John
"The New How Things Work: From Lawn Mowers to Surgical Robots and Everything in Between"
National Geographic, 2004.
Grades 4-12
Loadman, John
"The Hancocks of Marlborough: Rubber, Art, and the Industrial Revolution - A Family of Genius"
Oxford University Press, 2009.
Grades 8-12
Macaulay, David
"The Way Things Work Now"
Houghton Mifflin, 2015.
Grades 4-12
May, Vicki V.
"Engineering - Cool Women Who Design (Girls in Science)"
Nomad Press, 2016.
Grades 3-7
Mercer, Bobby
"Junk Drawer Engineering"
Chicago Review Press, 2017.
Grades 4-12
Platt, Richard
"Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions"
Smithsonian, 2001.
Grades 4-12
Rhatigan, Joe
"Inventions that Could Have Changed the World ... but Didn't!"
Charlesbridge, 2015.
Grades 4-7
VanCleave, Janice
"Machines: Mind-Boggling Experiments You Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects"
Wiley, 1993.
Grades 4-6
Fiction:
Adams, Douglas
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Del Rey, 1979.
Grades 6-12
Bujold, Lois McMaster
"Miles, Mutants and Microbes" ("Falling Free")
Baen, 1988
Grades 8-12
Clement, Hal
"Mission of Gravity"
Ebook only; 1954.
Grades 6-12
Clements, Andrew
"Jake Drake: Know-It-All"
Atheneum, 2007.
Grades 4-5
Niven, Larry
various books and stories, 1964-present.
Grades 7-12
Physics:
Branley, Franklyn M.
"Gravity Is a Mystery"
Collins, 2007.
Grades 4-5
Challoner, Jack
"The Visual Dictionary of Physics (Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries)"
Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
Grades 4-12
Chin, Jason
"Gravity"
Roaring Brook, 2014.
Grades 4-5
Friedhoffer, Bob
"Physics Lab in a Hardware Store"
Franklin Watts, 1996.
Grades 4-12
Gardner, Jane
"Physics: Investigate the Mechanics of Nature"
Nomad Press, 2014.
Grades 6-10
Gardner, Martin
"Smart Science Tricks"
Sterling, 2004.
Grades 4-8
Gardner, Robert
"Science Projects About the Physics of Toys & Games"
Enslow, 2000.
Grades 6-12
Gonick, Larry
"The Cartoon Guide to Physics"
Harper, 1991.
Grades 4-12
Hawbaker, Emily
"Energy Lab for Kids"
Quarry Books, 2017.
Grades 4-6
Lehrman, Robert L.
"Barron's E-Z Physics"
Barron's, 2009.
Grades 4-12
Lepora, Nathan
"Falling for Fun: Gravity in Action"
Gareth Stevens, 2008.
Grades 4-12
Mullins, Matt
"Energy (A True Book)"
Scholastic, 2012.
Grades 2-5
Mullins, Matt
"Gravity (A True Book)"
Scholastic, 2012.
Grades 2-5
Nardo, Don
"Force & Motion: Laws of Movement"
Compass Point, 2008.
Grades 5-7
Nardo, Don
"Kinetic Energy: The Energy of Motion"
Compass Point, 2008.
Grades 5-7
Oxlade, Chris
"Gravity (Heinemann InfoSearch)"
Heinemann, 2007.
Grades 4-12
Peacock, Graham
"Materials (Science Activities)"
Thomson Learning, 2004.
Grades 4-5
Rau, Dana Meachen
"Simple Machines: A True Book"
Childrens Press/Scholastic, 2012.
Grades 4-5
Riley, Peter D.
"Forces and Movement: Straightforward Science"
Franklin Watts, 1998.
Grades 4-6
Silver, Jerry
"125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius"
McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Grades 6-12
VIDEOS
Are Mass and Weight the Same Thing?
Do you know the difference? Learn it in 3:36!
Grades 4-12
Classical Mechanics
Leonard Susskind at Stanford delivers an excellent lecture on the laws of motion. Sophisticated, lots of math, and long-ish.
Grades 8-12
Curiosity Landing System Drop Test
Watch NASA's actual testing procedure for the Curiosity rover.
Grades 4-12
Design Your Own Space Elevator
Great explanation of the technology, with good animations.
Grades 4-12
Fundamentals of Physics (Yale University)
Ramamurti Shankar gives a great lecture on the fundamentals of physics. Long-ish (skip to 22:00 to get past talk about homework and exams) but engaging.
Grades 8-12
Galileo - Mini Biography
Just the highlights. A place to start.
Grades 4-12
How Do Parachutes Work?
Good animated explanation of parachutes. Product of the U.S. Air Force.
Grades 6-12
How Does a Parachute Work?
Short, simple explanation of the forces that make a parachute work.
Grades 4-6
Isaac Newton - Mini Biography
Just a starting point, but an engaging one.
Grades 4-12
Martian Series: Testing Curiosity's Parachute
NASA tests Curiosity's supersonic parachute. This is part 1 of several.
Grades 4-12
Physics: Kinetic and Potential Energy in a Roller Coaster
How do roller coasters work? This short video touches on a number of physics concepts to answer that question.
Grades 4-12
Re-creating Galileo's "Falling Bodies" Experiment at Pisa
Steve Shore at the University of Pisa re-creates Galileo's experiment.
Grades 4-12
Science Time: Gravity and Weight
Students explain mass and weight. Short and engaging, with minor background noise.
Grades 4-6
Simple Machines: The Inclined Plane
Retro but fun, a simple explanation of a simple machine.
Grades 4-12
Speed and Velocity w/ Marty Beller
Good explanation with a great They Might Be Giants Song.
Grades 6-12
The Physics of Superheroes
Great explanation of Conservation of Momentum and Newton's First Law of Motion using a classic Spider-Man story as an example.
Grades 8-12
