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STEM: Basics of Mechanical Engineering With Hands-On Projects
David Salch
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(3,274)
Popular
This course teaches the basics of mechanical engineering (building things) through hands on projects where each students creates their own design.
Class Experience
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
This is a true engineering class! You will be building unique actual things from scratch, not from a kit. Learn do engineering from design to completion! Explore and experiment! This is intended as a companion class to my other engineering series, and concentrates more on the basic skills of design and building itself. Everything learned here will be used in the full engineering series. Through the 10 weeks there will be several assigned projects to build. Each project will range from 1...
10 lessons//10 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1Building with TapeLearning how to properly select and use tape to build a strong structure. Project: Build a "T" shape from 3 wood sticks and test for strength.Week 2Lesson 2Building with GlueLearning how to properly use different types of glues to build a strong structure. Project: Build a "T" shape from 3 wood sticks and test for strength.Week 3Lesson 3BracingLearn how to increase strength of a structure by adding braces. Project: Build one each of a triangle, square and hexagon from wood sticks and test for strength.Week 4Lesson 4Strength from Weak MaterialsLearn how to use weak materials to build a strong structure. Project: Build a tower from only printer paper and tape, as high as possible, strong enough to hold a paperback book.Week 5Lesson 5Bridges 1Learn about different types of bridges. Project: Build a bridge to span at least 2 feet.Week 6Lesson 6Bridges 2Complete the Bridge project from last week.Week 7Lesson 7ChainsLearn how to build a chain, and how chains work to hold weight. Project: Build a chain from paper and test for strength.Week 8Lesson 8CordsLearn how to increase strength by adding multiple cords to a rope. Project: Measure strength of a rope with 1, 2, and 3 cords.Week 9Lesson 9StructuresLearn about building larger structures. Project: Build a structure using spaghetti and marshmallows.Week 10Lesson 10ReviewReview
- The goal of this course is to encourage problem solving, creativity, and confidence in creating designs from scratch. This is at the core of engineering as a discipline. It goes beyond just building fun stuff, and beyond understanding how it works. This course dives into practice in the actual process of engineering and problem solving.
I have been an engineering all my life. Built my first robot from scratch as a pre-teen, followed by a career of engineering (mechanical, software, hardware, etc) for 4 plus decades. There are several patents in my name, and products that I built acquired by major companies. I am retired now, and desire to pass along the experience of a lifetime to the next generation.
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Homework
Frequency: available upon requestFeedback: available upon requestDetails: Building projects from scratch with commonly available materials
Wooden sticks (toothpicks, popsicle sticks, wooden dowels, etc) Printer paper Yarn or light string Eggs Various cardboard boxes, plastic containers, etc (recycled trash!) Tape Glue or Hot Glue dry spaghetti Marshmallows
Joined December, 2016
4.9
3274reviews
Popular
Learning facts and skills is definitely important, but an often missed but critical piece of education is understanding the foundation. Without a proper understanding of the underlying principles of "how something works," the collection of facts...
Group Class
$25
weekly or $250 for 10 classes1x per week, 10 weeks
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
3-18 learners per class
