Week 1
Lesson 1
Turtle Crossing
After an introduction to the Engineering Design Process, students will work as environmental engineers to create a safe passage for turtles to cross a busy road. We will work together during the class to research possible challenge solutions, then engineers will work outside class to build and test their solutions before the next class.
Lesson 2
Hit the Target
We being by learning what a mechanical engineer does and explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy. Students are challenged to build a prototype of a new toy that will hit a target accurately. We will conduct research and brainstorm possible solutions during class. Students will complete the challenge on their own prior to the next class and be ready to share their results.
 Week 2
Lesson 3
The Chair Lift Challenge
This session will focus on transportation engineering using the principals of mechanical engineering learned in the previous class. After conducting research and brainstorming as a class, students will design a chair lift to specifications. They will build and test the chair lift on their own prior to the next class and be ready to share results.
Lesson 4
Move it Along
In this challenge, we will travel back to the time of the Pharaohs and the construction of the giant pyramids.  Students will use the principles of force and motion to design a conveyor system to move giant blocks of stone from one place to another. We will conduct research and brainstorm in class and then students will build and test their transportation systems prior to the next class. 
 Week 3
Lesson 5
Solar Oven Challenge
Students will learn what a solar engineer does, how solar power can be used, and different types of solar ovens.  The challenge is this: The World Relief Organization has asked for your help in designing efficient ovens using renewable energy  for remote villages in Africa. They will brainstorm and plan during class, then build two different solar ovens to determine which one works best.
Lesson 6
Tower to the Moon
We will end the course by applying all of the engineering principles we have learned to build a tall tower to specifications that will stand alone for 30 seconds.  We will finish the course with a game to assess student understanding of engineering design principles.