Learning about engineering doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, engineering education can take place with just the materials found around the classroom.
Take solar ovens, for example. Students use a cardboard box, aluminum foil and plastic wrap, tape, construction paper, and other insulating materials to get their oven hot enough to roast a marshmallow – a tasty s’more is a nice reward for a job well done.
The beauty of several of the EiE projects: they’re easy to replicate.
“We want our students to be excited about math and science, and take that excitement from the classroom to the home,” Friers said.
However, the beauty of these simple exercises is that there are many different solutions to the same problem.
Take the Tower Power lesson from Training for the Future, for example. Students brainstorm the completion of each tower differently and take different steps to complete the tower, even though the final outcome and goal is the same.
(Teacher quote on creativity).