In this design challenge from the National STEM Learning Centre and Network, students construct a lever that is moved by muscle wire. This is a conductor that contracts when an electric current is passed through it. The wire movement controls a lever.

In this design challenge from the National STEM Learning Centre and Network, students make a rotating arm actuator. This uses a geared dc motor to turn a friction fit arm. Two cams can be set at different angles to operate limit switches to control the movement of the...

This activity focuses on promoting a product to a particular target user group. Teamwork, creativity and entrepreneurial skills are required to design, brand and market a new Nintendo Wii product.

In this activity,...

This is one of a series of resources designed to allow learners to use the theme of the men’s football World Cup to develop their knowledge and skills in design and technology and engineering. This resource focuses on making and testing a moisture sensor that referees can use to check the playability of the pitch...

In this design challenge from the National STEM Learning Centre and Network, students build an electric racer powered by a super-capacitor. Students must construct the racer and choose which pulley ratio will enable it to cover the greatest distance.

This Makerbot educations guidebook supports the users of 3D printers to understand the basics on how 3D printers work and how to use them, including a crash course on 3D design. It provides nine, 3D printing lesson plans to integrate the technology into the classroom, bringing STEM and project based learning to a...

This lesson aimed at upper primary links to aspects of sound, electricity and design and technology. Looking at how we use technology to communicate with each other, children think about how telephones work, from string-can phones to modern mobile devices. Provided with different scenarios children decide on which...

In this cross curricular activity, children learn about light and shadows by creating shadow puppets which tell the story of a myth or legend. Teacher’s notes provide a step by step guide to creating the shadow puppets, showing how to create moving parts; it also shows how to set up a shadow theatre to tell the...

This is one of a series of extended units, from the Association for Science Education and the Design and Technology Association, to provide in-depth coverage of a topic or an area of the curriculum. Through work on this unit, students learn about the potential for using renewable energy resources from small (local...

In this unit pupils will investigate how a submarine descends and ascends through making a Cartesian diver.When you put the diver (pen top, paper clip and...

Inspired by the Born to Engineer video from Dr Eleanor Stride, an engineer who is developing a treatment for cancer that encloses cancer-treating drugs in bubbles, this resource supports students to increase their understanding of engineering in a food science context,...

This is one of a series of resources to support the use of the BBC micro:bit. This resource focusses on pupils designing, programming and using a programmable device that can be used as a musical instrument in a class performance.

In this activity pupils will design and create a programmable device that can...

In this activity, students create musical instruments using recycled materials.  They are then asked to analyse the musical notes their instruments produce using free-to-download software.  The challenge is for the students to see how close the notes their instruments make can get to those produced by real...

This is one of a series of extended units from the Association for Science Education and the Design and Technology Association, to provide in-depth coverage of a topic or an area of the curriculum. This unit covers the use of energy management systems in buildings focusing on the students’ own school. It provides a...

This activity focuses on promoting a product to a particular target user group. Teamwork, creativity and entrepreneurial skills are required to design, brand and market a new Nintendo Wii product. ‘Make your pitch!’ provides students with an opportunity to explore and...