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Subtopic: Innovation and Invention

Change grade range

Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Air Bag Design Using automobile crash test footage, this video segment adapted from NOVA shows some of the challenges in designing the air bag.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Air Power: Making a Hovercraft In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make their own hovercraft and demonstrate how the air leaking out of a balloon can make a plastic plate hover above a table.	K-8	QuickTime Video
Ask an Engineer Explore some of the wonders of modern engineering in this video from the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York. Hear a diverse selection of engineers explain how things work.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Choosing a STEM Career Students will view video clips about graduate and middle school students with interests in STEM careers and compare technologies from yesterday with today. They will explore careers on-line before writing about their futures as STEM professionals.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Design for Function In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad designs an invention that will help them cross a swamp and also reach the top of a tall cliff.	3-5	QuickTime Video
Design Inspired by Nature In this stills collage produced for Teachers' Domain, see several examples of everyday inventions that were either inspired by nature or are similar in form and function to plants or animals.	3-12	Flash Image
Drilling to Antarctica’s Rock Core In this video adapted from ANDRILL, find out how geoscientists get through more than a dozen football fields of ice and water in order to study the rock and sediment beneath Antarctica.	3-8	QuickTime Video
Engineering Career Options It's a profession that can take you from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space, from within the microscopic structures of the human cell to the top of the tallest skyscrapers. In this stills collage adapted from The American Society for Engineering Education, learn about some of the most popular engineering fields.	3-12	Flash Image
Forgotten Inventors This illustrated feature from the American Experience Web site highlights the frequently forgotten inventors of several useful, innovative technologies.	3-12	HTML Interactive
Franklin Chang-Díaz: Rocket Scientist This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW profiles Franklin Chang-Díaz, a scientist who is working on plasma-powered rockets and was NASA's first Latin American astronaut.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fusion Energy Advances In this report from the NewsHour, correspondent Spencer Michels reports on ongoing efforts to produce fusion energy to help fuel American energy independence.	9-12	MPEG 4 Video
Global Warming: The Hydrogen Car Is the hydrogen car the answer to global warming? This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the pros and cons of this developing technology.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Hoover Dam and Hydroelectric Power How does a dam generate electricity and what are the environmental impacts of operating these mammoth structures? Find out in this video segment adapted from Building Big.	3-12	QuickTime Video
How Engineering Affects Your Life Students explore the engineering that impacts their day-to-day life.	K-2	Lesson Plan
How Technology Affects Your Life This collection of still images explores the many ways in which various technologies, from telephones to bicycles to computers, affect the everyday lives of young children.	K-5	Flash Image
Igloo 101 Learn what it takes to build an igloo—from the best kind of snow to the most effective tools—and other little-known facts about these traditional Canadian Inuit structures in this interactive activity from NOVA.	3-8	Flash Interactive
The Impact of Technology: Cars This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey looks at the invention of the automobile and the development of mass production.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Kid Inventor: Tennis Ball Picker-Upper Tired of bending down to pick up those runaway tennis balls? Leang can help you out with his handy invention in this video segment from ZOOM.	K-5	QuickTime Video
Kid Inventor: Newspaper Crank In this video segment from ZOOM, Andrew demonstrates how his invention helps him get ready for his paper route.	K-8	QuickTime Video
Kid Inventor: The Collapsible Lacrosse Stick In this video segment from ZOOM, Lauren explains how she invented a way to make her lacrosse stick fit in her backpack.	K-8	QuickTime Video
Kid Inventor: The Couch Protector Want to keep your dog off the couch? In this video segment from ZOOM, Jason demonstrates his invention that does just that: a couch protector.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Kismet In this video segment adapted from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory working to engineer smarter robots are now building a machine that interacts socially with people.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Robot Race In this video segment adapted from NOVA, cars drive themselves. Teams of designers using different technologies compete for a two-million-dollar prize to see which unmanned vehicle will make it to the finish line first.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Simple Solutions Amy Smith is an engineer who designs simple and inexpensive solutions to real-world problems. This video produced for Teachers' Domain features her innovative design for testing the safety of drinking water in the developing world.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Technology at Home This interactive activity from A Science Odyssey offers a historic tour of 20th century home technologies.	3-8	Shockwave Interactive
Technology Timeline This interactive timeline from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Web site features influential technological innovations from 1750 to 1990.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Ten Fun Facts About Engineering In this stills collage adapted from the National Society of Professional Engineers, see examples of how engineering makes our lives more fun and exciting.	3-12	Flash Image
Transforming the Future of Flight In this video segment adapted from NASA, learn how engineers are transforming the future of flight by designing airplanes based on principles found in nature.	3-12	QuickTime Video
What If Engineering Disappeared for a Day? What would you do if engineering disappeared for a day? In this stills collage adapted from the National Society of Professional Engineers, see how engineering achievements impact a typical school day.	3-8	Flash Image
What Is a Robot? In this lesson, students are introduced to robots, including ones that exist in their everyday lives. They learn about the kinds of things that robots do, the excitement that goes with designing and testing, and what inspires ideas for different robots.	3-5	Lesson Plan
Wright Time, Wright Place In this video from ThinkTV Dayton, learn about the life and times of Dayton, Ohio's Wright Brothers, inventors of the first practical airplane.	5-8	MPEG 4 Video
Young Inventors In this stills collage adapted from the National Science Teachers Association/Craftsman Young Inventors Awards, see several inventions by students in grades 4-7 and read about some of the challenges they faced during the design process.	K-8	Flash Image