"If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door," Ralph Waldo Emerson is often credited with saying. In today's world, that might more likely be "if you build a better cell phone..." or maybe "a better vehicle..." But as an 8th-grade design project, the author challenges his students to build that better mousetrap. In…

An excellent common activity in technology and engineering classes involves dropping an egg from a significant height in a protective device designed and built by students. This article describes how the author uses the classic "egg drop" as an inspiration to have students modify a small crash test vehicle that speeds down a track and crashes into…

Educators at Thomas A. Edison Middle School have worked together to bring invention information and activities to life. One activity in particular, Ping-Pong Ball Invention Challenge, has proven a great success. The Ping-Pong Ball Invention Challenge was inspired by the basic rules for PBS's "Design Squad"'s "Pop Fly" activity. In this article,…

Customers determine whether a product fulfills their needs or satisfies them. "Quality control", then, is the process of finding out what the customer wants, along with designing, producing, delivering, and servicing the product--and ultimately satisfying the customer's expectations. For many years, people considered a product to be of good…

Recognizing the increasing popularity of skateboarding, the author has found a project that teaches design and manufacturing concepts--and, of equal importance, really gets his students motivated. He challenges them to design and build a skateboard rack that mounts easily on a bicycle. The project benefits students by teaching creativity, the…

In November 2008, a mass email sent by the department chairman arrived in the inboxes of the imaging and photographic technology students at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A great opportunity was in store for four lucky students. The department had received a request for proposals (RFP) sent by NASA to colleges around the United States…

Presents methods and materials needed to involve students in designing and maintaining Web sites while they learn valuable computer skills. (SK)

Includes "Integrating Coursework in Design with Industry Projects" (Liu); "A 'Perfect' Project--Computer Assisted Manufacturing, Fabrication, and Recycling All in One" (Anderson); and "Fluid Sensing and Control" (Hawkins, Hardy). (SK)

While classroom instruction can and should still be used to teach students the fundamentals of engineering, the key to their ultimate success is learning to use that knowledge in a real-world setting. Out-of-class activities, like the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) National Concrete Canoe Competition, not only give students a hands-on…