Smithsonian, Carolina Biological Launch New Engineering Program for Grades 1-5
Carolina Biological Supply Company and the Smithsonian Science Education Center recently launched the newSmithsonian Science for the Classroom™ Engineering modules for students in grades 1 to 5.
The program presents students with real-world problems and teaches them to design real-world solutions. Module kits for grades 1 and 2 are available now. Grades 3-5 are expected to ship this spring.
Each module of the program includes a Teacher Guide with step-by-step teacher instructions, hands-on lab materials, literacy and student activity guides, assessment, and digital eBook versions of the Teacher Guide and student books.
Module titles introduce questions about natural phenomena or problems for students to investigate and design solutions:
1. Grade 1 – How Can We Send a Message Using Sound?
Students help Hopper the Frog cross the river. They design and build a simple instrument to send messages to help Hopper safely cross the river.
2. Grade 2 – How Can We Stop Soil from Washing Away?
Students are asked to design and build a plan to prevent the washing away of sand towers.
3. Grade 3 – How Can We Protect Animals When their Habitat Changes?
Students are challenged to save the salamanders as they design and test a solution to help salamanders safely cross a busy road.
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4. Grade 4 – How Can We Provide Energy to People’s Homes?
Students apply what they learn about the transfer of energy as they design, build, and test a solution to wiring a door bell into a model house.
5. Grade 5 – How Can We Provide Fresh Water to Those in Need?
Students are challenged to design a freshwater delivery system that provides enough water to sustain all the stakeholders in a community: agriculture, industry, the environment, and housing.