12D

Explore concepts of force and motion.

Posts

The Roots of Architecture

”If the squirrel comes down from the tree this way, we can trap him under here!" exclaims six-year-old Elliott. The playground equipment sits empty as Elliott, Harper, and their fellow "squirrel trappers" gather at the base of a towering oak tree in our neighborhood park.  The children have long been captivated by this venerable old […]

Engineering Adventures with Paper Airplanes

It all began with a concert ticket. More specifically, a ticket to a concert on the Ben Folds Paper Airplane Request Tour 2024. During these concerts, Ben Folds—an Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer—encourages fans in the audience to send their song requests to the stage via paper airplanes. To ensure that the planes carrying my song requests would […]

A World of Bubble Play

“If you wiggle your hands like this, you can make lots and lots of bubbles!" exclaims Hudson. "Watch!” Piper and Hudson are elbow deep in a tub of water, splashing about happily as they investigate cause and effect in a moment of playful learning.  Science begins with curiosity, which leads to discovery and exploration. Learning science […]

Lessons

HEXBUG Maze Design

In this lesson, the children will observe different HEXBUGS to predict how they might move through a block maze.

Friends Across the River

In this lesson, children will work together to cross the flooding river as it grows wider and wider.

Lifting With Levers

In this lesson children will experiment with a simple lever setup to see if they can lift a heavy object off of the floor with just one finger.

If I Built a House

In this lesson, children will use a variety of open-ended materials to create engineering designs of houses and then construct and test their designs.

Easy Pipe-Cleaner Tower Challenge

In this lesson, children will take the Pipe Cleaner Tower Challenge and compete to see who can build the tallest freestanding tower with 15 pipe cleaners.

Discovering Design With a Skyscraper Challenge

In this lesson, children will learn that designing a skyscraper involves choosing the best materials and arranging them in the best way to keep the structure stable as it grows taller and taller.