From creating their own claymation movie to soldering an LED butterfly, Techbridge introduces girls to a variety of topics using exciting hands-on projects. Our curriculum units are designed to encourage and promote girls' interest and skills in technology, science and engineering.
Sample Techbridge Curriculum
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The Techbridge curriculum introduces students to science, technology, and engineering concepts through hands-on projects and activities. Through these activities, the students not only have fun and become interested in these topics but also learn new scientific concepts and principles. Many of the units also provide a PowerPoint that highlights careers related to the topic that can be used to start a discussion on career options for the future.
Animation: Lights, camera, animate! Students learn about the fun and creativity involved in making an animation. They start by making flipbooks in order to learn about the use of frames in animation. Students then experience the process of designing their very own claymation from start to finish; they learn about writing a story, creating a storyboard, and using clay figures, webcams, and stop-motion animation software to create their own exciting claymation.
Cars and Engines: Students, start your engines! In this unit, students learn about the four-stroke engine, as well as how to care for and maintain the family car. The students work on car design challenges where they construct a variety of different cars that use different power sources. They also have a chance to build a model 4-stroke engine, perform basic car maintenance and get down and dirty by doing some reverse engineering on a lawnmower engine.
Chemical Engineering: Use chemicals to synthesize a new product! In this unit students will be challenged to discover the chemical formula for the bounciest ball and create a chemical combination that will launch a rocket high into the sky. The importance of following instructions in a chemistry lab will be addressed as the students conduct an experiment resulting in an unknown, edible treat (peanut brittle). These activities, and more, will allow students the opportunity to test chemical combinations and record reactions as they experience life as a chemical engineer.
Circuitry and Soldering: Unravel the secrets of electrical power! Students learn the basic concepts behind electricity and unmask the truth about how electrical components work in a circuit. They can observe the glowing “electric” pickle, use Snap Circuits™ to build interesting circuits and learn the exciting skill of soldering. Once students have mastered this new skill they can apply it to the design and construction of a variety of fun and unique toys and games. Some of the projects students can create include a light-up LED butterfly, a color-changing lantern, and their own electronic buzzer game board.
Computer Science: Kids are always on the computer, but do they know about the technology behind it? In this hands-on unit in computer science, students will increase their technology know-how and learn what makes computers tick. The students learn the basics through a robot workout and a twist on the old lunchtime favorite, the peanut butter jelly sandwich. Introduce them to computer programming with Pico Crickets, a programmable device that can make motors spin and lights flash. Show them how to safely navigate the web, and then have them create a webpage of their very own. Dissect a computer and navigate the students through the various components that make up the technology they see in their everyday lives!
CSI: Solve the mystery of the missing puppy! In this unit students will learn how crime scene investigations are conducted. They will use methodical thinking to organize and examine various pieces of evidence found at a crime scene. Students will go through the steps and experiments to solve “The Case of the Missing Puppy.” Experiments include: testing stomach contents for the presence of liver, dusting dishes to find and analyze fingerprints, using chromatography to compare various inks, using microscopy techniques to examine hair samples, and determining several blood types. Through these experiments, students will gain further understanding of basic biological concepts.
Design Challenges: Quick – what can you make with a skewer, a paper clip, a Dixie cup, and push pins? With limited materials and time constraints students are challenged to design and construct various structures and products. These hands-on activities give students real experience with concepts such as mechanical energy, velocity and chemical reactions. Activities range from designing and constructing a floating vessel with its own propulsion system that can carry a cargo (pennies) across a wading pool to designing a bungee jump for an egg without cracking and/or breaking when released from a height of 6 feet. Such hands-on activities allow students to apply what they have learned in school while exploring and having fun.
Digital Photography: Say cheese! Students love taking pictures. This unit begins with students making a pinhole camera to understand how they work. They are introduced to the basic parts and functions of the digital camera and learn about photo composition by analyzing photos taken as part of a scavenger hunt. Students learn how to modify their images using Photoshop Editing software, and can add color to a black-and-white photo for emphasis, or even put their family on the moon! The unit culminates with a variety of different projects that students can apply their new digital photography skills to – t-shirts, career calendars, or even digital stories.
Environmental Engineering: Take your students’ passion for saving the environment to the next level! In this unit students learn about the many different aspects of environmental engineering. From designing a solar powered car to figuring out what materials are needed to filter dirty water into clean water, students engage in a variety of hands-on activities that allow them to make the world a better, greener place. After all of these exciting activities, students reflect on careers in environmental engineering.
Green Design: Teach your students how to make the world a better place. Students will learn about green design and in the process develop science and engineering skills. They will construct a green home from start to finish – from brainstorming an idea, to creating a floor plan, to building “green.” Students begin this unit by doing different activities that stress human impact on the environment and the current strategies people implement to reduce this impact. Through these activities, students will explore and reflect on their energy usage in their home and consider ways in which they can change their habits to lessen their environmental impact.
Icebreakers: Have fun, get energized and learn more about new friends through icebreakers. They may seem like silly games, but they are a great way to encourage students to problem solve, work together as a team, overcome difficult challenges, and exercise leadership.
Product Design: How does a product go from an idea in someone’s mind to the store shelf? In this unit, the students get a chance to learn about how the engineering design process is used in order to create innovative new products. Students have a chance to create many of their own products, including gumball machines and kites, as well as create a prototype of a brand new toy. Students also have a chance to analyze existing designs through the process of reverse engineering. By taking apart items such as hair dryers and common household appliances, students can learn how they work and come up with ideas for improving these existing products.
Structural Engineering: Buildings are all around, but how exactly are they built to withstand certain conditions? In this hands-on unit on structural engineering, students will create towers out of spaghetti, bridges out of straws, and domes out of gumdrops in order to answer this question. The students will test various parameters of each structure they build, such as how fast a marble can roll through their foam roller coaster and how long they can make their Popsicle stick structure last through an earthquake. See the improvements the students make as they realize the different forces acting on each of their designs!