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Tops
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In this activity, learners discover that some things only stand up while they are spinning.

Don't Crack Humpty
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Groups of learners are provided with a generic car base and an egg. Their mission: design a device/enclosure to protect the egg on or in the car as it rolls down a ramp with increasing slopes.

Engineered Sports
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In this activity, learners explore the concept of how aerospace engineering has impacted sports, specifically exploring the design of golf balls.

Playing with Parachutes
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In this activity, learners explore how parachutes are used to slow down moving objects. Learners work in teams of "engineers" to design and build their own parachutes out of everyday items.

Pencil Balance
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In this activity, challenge learners to make a pencil stand on its tip using only two pieces of wire and two clothespins. Use this activity to demonstrate the center of gravity.

Magnetic Marble Run
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Learners explore magnetism and motion as they build a simple marble run. Learners test different arrangements of plastic and cardboard tubes, bottles, and cups on a magnetic board.

Bobbing Eyeballs
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In this activity, learners use simple materials and basic tools to construct a special toy to explore pendulums. As the head of the toy bobs one way, the eyeballs bob the other way.

Kites
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In this engineering/design activity, learners make a kite, fly it, and then work to improve the design. Learners explore how their kite design variations affect flight.

Pendulum Snake
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In this physics activity, learners assemble and/or investigate a pendulum "snake." Several large steel hex-nuts are suspended on strings of successively increasing length to form a series of pendulums

Zip Line
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In this design challenge activity, learners build a device to carry a Ping-Pong ball from the top of a zip line to the bottom in four seconds (or less!).

Which Parachute
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In this activity, learners will engineer three different parachutes to test how well each one works.

Make and Fly a Helicopter
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Learners follow the template to build and fly a paper helicopter.

High Rise
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In this design challenge activity, learners build a tower that can support a tennis ball at least 18 inches off the ground while withstanding the wind from a fan.

Filtration Investigation
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In this activity, learners explore how engineering has developed various means to remove impurities from water.

A Simple Escapement Mechanism
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In this activity, learners build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" of energy released by a falling weight by portioning it into discrete amounts.

Zip Line Zoo
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In this activity, learners build a stuffed-animal zip line. Learners hold a cord against a wall, hook a cute stuffed animal onto it, let the animal slide down, and records its travel time.

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

Make a Mobile!
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In this activity, learners make mobiles to explore the concepts of balance, counterbalance, weight, and counterweight.

Parachute Parade
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In this engineering activity, learners design parachutes to give toy figures safe landings. This activity is great for practicing an important STEM skill--changing only one variable at a time.

Building a Magic Carpet
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In this activity (page 89 of the PDF), learners compare and contrast pitch and roll motions by using a Magic Carpet maze similar to one that was used for Neurolab investigations about microgravity.