$25
weeklyor $250 for 10 classes
STEM: Basics of Mechanical Engineering With Hands-On Projects
Completed by 77 learners
Ages 9-14
Live Group Course
Live video meetings
1x per week, 10 weeks
3-18 learners per class
55 min
What's included
10 live meetings
9 hrs 10 mins in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Building projects from scratch with commonly available materialsClass Experience
US Grade 3 - 6
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 week to 3 weeks depending on complexity. Class time is spent exploring concepts and options, and understanding the assignment. Then build time is between the weekly sessions. A review of the designs will be done the following week at the start of class. All of the materials for these projects should be commonly available. Check the materials Section for a List of things necessary. Improvising with similar things is acceptable. The intention is to not have to buy anything extra for this class. Note: this is a fast moving course, projects each week, and high expectations! Its a lot of fun, but can be challenging at times. In other words.. true engineering style!
Learning Goals
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.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum10 Lessons
over 10 WeeksLesson 1:
Building with Tape
Learning 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.
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Building with Glue
Learning 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.
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Bracing
Learn 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.
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Strength from Weak Materials
Learn 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 small paperback book.
55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
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
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Meet the teacher
Teacher expertise and credentials
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.
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