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In this activity, learners explore the unique challenges in transportation engineering, such as devising a method for skiers or hikers to get to the top of a mountain.

In this activity, learners build rockets and shoot them into the air by stomping on the plastic bottle launchers.

In this activity, learners construct hand-held altitude trackers. The device is a sighting tube with a marked water level that permits measurement of the inclination of the tube.

In this quick activity (located on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Balloon Fiesta Activity), learners will see the effects of convection and understand what makes hot air balloons rise.

In this design challenge activity, learners build a boat that can hold 25 pennies (or 15 one inch metal washers) for at least ten seconds before sinking.

Learners act as engineers and design mini submarines that move in the water like real submarines.

In this robotics activity, learners drive a remote-controlled car through a course to learn the challenges faced while trying to operate a planetary rover.

In this activity, learners evaluate the potential performance of air rockets placed inside a wind tunnel.

Learners discover that soap can be used to power a boat. Learners make a simple, flat boat model, put it in water, and then add a drop of detergent at the back of the boat.

Scientists use enormous wind tunnels to test the design of planes, helicopters, even the Space Shuttle.

In this small-group activity, learners assume the roles of pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists to solve five Air Traffic Control (ATC) problems.

Learners assemble a hot-air balloon from tissue paper. The heated air (from a heat gun) inside the balloon is less dense than the surrounding air and causes the balloon to float.

In this activity, learners explore the properties of paper by constructing and modifying paper airplanes.

The goal of this activity is to build a miniature bobsled that is either the fastest or the slowest. Learners use recycled materials to design, build, and test their bobsled on a bobsled track.

In this activity (on page 4), learners create a submarine using a plastic sandwich bag. This is a fun way to learn about buoyancy and how captured gas can cause objects to float.

In this activity, learners explore how engineers design tire treads to increase safety and reliability.

In this design challenge activity, learners build a car that can travel at least four feet using rubber band power and use the design process to debug problems.

This activity (located on page 3 of the PDF under GPS: Balloon Fiesta Activity) is a full inquiry investigation into Bernoulli’s principle and airplane wings.

In this design challenge activity, learners add a jet-propulsion system (i.e. a balloon) to a blimp so it flies straight and far under its own power.

In this design and physics challenge, learners construct a cylindrical wing, fly it, make modifications, and determine how the changes affect flight patterns.