Students will explore properties of sound and sound waves, experiment with building models of various musical instruments, then design and build a playable musical instrument of their choosing.

Using an Arduino microprocessor, students will build an automated fish food feeder so fish can be fed when no one is at school?

This project involves learning how to do simple wiring of an LED, a buzzer, and a servo (motor) to a simple-to-use Arduino microprocessor.

This project will be focused on designing, constructing and evaluating different containers to determine the optimal design for heat retention. After students have constructed their designs and collected and shared data, students will evaluate the class data to create an optimal design for our culminating event: warming ooey, gooey chocolate chip cookies to perfection! Through this activity, students will learn about energy transfer, engineering design process, data collection, graphing, rate of change, optimization, surface area and proportions. The students will test the effectiveness of their design using Vernier Probes to gather quantitative data and graphing the rate of temperature change. They will then create a poster presentation to share their data to the class. Students will use their mathematical skills to quantitatively analyze the strength and weaknesses of their designs while enjoying some delicious, toasty, warm cookies.

A lesson plan for 4th grade science. Kids create a version of the marble roll project to simulate a manufacturing process.

Driving Question: How can we as 7th grade math students use surface area to make a mug that retains heat for the longest amount of time possible?

Students will breed fruit flies through several generations and record their data using mathematical models in order to demonstrate the inheritance of trait variations.

Our project involves students learning about the values of a natural area in their community and producing a public service announcement and map to show its value and how it could be developed.

Our school, Kelly Middle School, is one of the oldest middle school buildings in 4J (primary construction was completed in 1945). Each year we practice earthquake drills. Why? Why should we be concerned about earthquakes? Where might an earthquake occur in the northwest area? Might it be minor or violent? How might this be measured? Is an earthquake a singular event, or a series of events? What increases or decreases an earthquake hazard? Do we have any early-warning systems? Is the school earthquake drill correct? Considering these questions students need to develop an understanding of how to prepare for, and react to an earthquake event. When students are comfortably informed, who should they report to?

This unit uses the slinky seismometer as a means of studying physics concepts such as waves, sound and the speed of sound vs speed of light, resonance, electricity and magnetism, Lenz Law and magnetic dampening (backwards engineering). Students experiment with the basic parts of the seismometer and either build or connect the seismometer to the internet to take and upload data.

There is a 40% chance that the lower ⅓ of the of the Cascadia subduction zone will rupture in the next 50 years, generating a large earthquake and ensuing tsunami. In this project, students will work collaboratively to design and test a model of a vertical evacuation structure. They will evaluate the performance of their models and propose further modifications to improve their design. Students will then make a scale drawing and a model to apply math concepts of scale to designing and creating an ideal model of a vertical evacuation structure. Finally, students will present their findings and proposed final design to their peers and an adult audience. The entire process takes about 2 weeks, and was expanded to include more information and activities with earthquake/tsunami prediction and application of scale. The unit is a great fit for standards within Earth Science (specifically plate tectonics and human mitigation) as well as Engineering and Design standards.

This project will raise student awareness of the problem of waste and waste management in our community. As we progress through the unit the goal is to reduce the amount of waste that our school produces. There are many ways to do this but the most unique aspect is to reduce biodegradable waste from our cafeteria through the process of vermicomposting. Students will design and create worm bins to reduce our cafeteria waste. The project will take a couple of weeks for the content and the construction of worm bins and then we will monitor our worm bins throughout the school year.

Students will have to solve the real world problem of locker smell leakage by building an air filter that will cover the vents on the top of a locker. This project goes well with a curriculum on the particle nature of gases and phase changes.