This project will introduce you to a complex engineering concept visually. After your engineer challenge is complete, you can collect observations on your 3-D bubble wand's form and performance.

Have you ever enjoyed watching something lift off into the air, like fireworks at a show or a spacecraft launching? It can be an amazing experience. It is thrilling to see something lift off against Earth's gravity. To launch a spacecraft, its rockets give it a strong push that is due to a chemical reaction. This means that every time you see a spacecraft launch, you are watching chemistry at work. In this activity you will get to blast an object into the air using two simple ingredients -- baking soad and vinegar. Investigate how to mix these ingredients to get the best lift off, and then you could give your friends and family a homemade, gravity-defying show!

Have you ever seen a mobile? These are structures hang from the ceiling and are usually made up of many layers of rods to which differently shaped objects are attached with strings. When you look at the mobile sculpture, you might wonder how it can stay balanced all the time even when it is moving in the air.

Have you ever noticed the types of beaks different birds have? The most important fucntion of b ird bill is feeding, and it is shaped according to what a bird eats. The bill is one of the characteristics used to identify birds. You can learn about bird behavious by looking at the bill and thinking about what it easts. Then you may think about where it lives, and so on.

Have you ever ridden in a car driving across a suspension bridge? Suspension bridges, with their tall towers, long spans, and gracefully curving cables, are beautiful examples of the work of civil engineers. How do the cables and towers carry the load that is on the bridge, which includes you and the car you are in when you cross the bridge? Can a suspension bridge carry a greater load than a simple beam bridge? You can try to answer these questions in this science activity!

In this activity, you will build a bird feeder to attract birds, so you can study them.

In this activity, boats aren't just for water! Children use a limited selection of materials and their creativity to become an engineer and build a land boat that sails across different surfaces.

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster? Have you ever wated to design your own? There are plenty of expensive toys and even video games that will let you build your own coasters -- but in this project you'll make one out of paper and tape and learn about roller coaster physics along the way!

Have you ever poured sand out of a buckey, or poured cereal out of a box, and noticed it is a lot like pouring water? It is because sand and cereal are granular materials. This means they are made up of solid particles, but they can flow like liquids! Candies, like Skittles, M&M's, Nerds and many others, are also granular materials. In this science activity, you will investigate physics and how the size and shape of granular materials affect how they flow.

Have you ever wondered why salt is used to de-ice roads? In this activity, you will use the same chemistry principles to hoist ice cubes with a piece of string. Is it possible to do this without getting your hands cold? Try the activity and see what a pinch of salt can do!

You will be challenged to create your own parachut to help your toy animal safely land.

In this activity, you will encrypt a message for your students or children. The message will divulge the location of one or more hidden treasures. THere are many ways to encrypt messages. this lesson will suggest two, but you are encouraged to get creative and fidn other ways to encrypt the messages you give to your students or children.