Unit 1STEM in the Olympics
4 lessons4 Weeks
STEM in the Olympics
 Week 1
Lesson 1
Energy Transfer in Athletic Equipment
The kids will learn about energy transfer in athletic equipment by designing protective padding for a raw egg.
 Week 2
Lesson 2
Compression, Tension, and  Load
The kids will learn about the strengths of different shapes by creating a structure that will hold a heavy book.
 Week 3
Lesson 3
Compression, Tension, and Load
The kids will design and begin to build a model parking garage.  They will learn about constraints of a building project. They will finish their garage outside of club meeting time.
 Week 4
Lesson 4
Compression, Tension, and Load
The kids will  share their model parking garages, and we will wrap up the unit by discussing the concepts that the kids have learned.
Unit 2Bridges
2 lessons2 Weeks
Bridges
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Shapes and Bridges
The kids will create a  strong bridge from straws using different shapes in their design.
 Week 6
Lesson 6
Bridge Materials
The kids will test how well a clay pillar withstands a load before failure.
Unit 3Navigation
5 lessons5 Weeks
Navigation
 Week 7
Lesson 7
How Do We Know Where We Are?
This lesson focuses on the concepts of latitude and longitude, degrees, minutes and seconds as well as using latitude and longitude on a map.
 Week 8
Lesson 8
Topography
The kids will learn how to use topography maps.
 Week 9
Lesson 9
Simple Compasses
The kids will create a simple compass and use it.  They will also learn about Earth's magnetic field.
 Week 10
Lesson 10
Vectors
The kids will learn about the concept of dead reckoning and how to use vectors to  plot a course based on a time and speed. Then they correct the positions with vectors representing winds and currents.

 Week 11
Lesson 11
Triangles and Navigation
The kids will learn how triangles are used in navigation. They will be introduced to the Pythagorean Theorem and how to use it.
Unit 4Natural Disasters
4 lessons4 Weeks
Natural Disasters
 Week 12
Lesson 12
Tornadoes
The kids will learn how tornadoes form and where they occur in the world.  The kids will learn about the damage a tornado can cause and how engineers work to construct buildings that can withstand damage. They will also rate tornadoes based on the damage they cause.
 Week 13
Lesson 13
Volcanoes
The kids will learn about volcanoes ,and they  will create a model of a volcano and use a chemical reaction to make it erupt.
 Week 14
Lesson 14
Earthquakes
The kids will learn what causes Earthquakes, and they will build a structure and test it against an "earthquake".
 Week 15
Lesson 15
Tsunami
The kids will learn about tsunami, and they will build a model to create a tsunami.
Unit 5Simple Machines and Engineering
3 lessons3 Weeks
Simple Machines and Engineering
 Week 16
Lesson 16
Simple Machines
The kids will learn about simple machines and their uses.
 Week 17
Lesson 17
Simple Machines
The kids will design a simple machine lever that will launch a ping pong ball.
 Week 18
Lesson 18
Ping Pong Ball Launcher
The kids will demonstrate their ping pong ball launchers during our club meeting.