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Yuletide illuminations have come a long way since Edison decorated his Menlo Park Lab with a string of bulbs in 1880. Serial lights made once-unaffordable "festoons" a holiday mainstay, though one bad bulb spoiled the show. Today, LEDs turn whole neighborhoods into wondrous displays. Your electrical engineers will get a charge from this month's activity. Happy holidays!
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| Activity: Squishy Circuits
In this fun activity created by St. Thomas University engineering educator AnnMarie Thomas, students of all ages learn the principles of electricity by building circuits out of play dough, LEDs, and batteries. No soldering needed!
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RELATED LESSONS
Brown Bag Electricity (Grades 1-5)
Holiday Lights and Circuits (Grades 4-8)
Dance Pad Mania (Grades 4-7)
Plasma Globes & Electricity (Grades 3-5)
MORE LESSONS:
Grades K-5 | Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12
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Feature: Bye Bye, Blues?
Millions of people get SAD - seasonal affective disorder - during the winter. Current treatment requires shining a light in the sufferer's face for up to two hours a day, but a Finnish start-up has a better idea: directing light into sufferers' ears.
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RELATED FEATURES:
Student Invents Projecting Bike Light
Beams of Electricity to Extinguish Fire
Electricity, Borne by Giants
A Life in Darkness
Blue LED Beams Nobel Fame
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| Spotlight: Next Generation STEM Lessons
 TeachEngineering, a searchable online library of 1,352 free, teacher-tested activities, just got a makeover. Improvements include aligning lessons with Common Core math and Next Generation science standards, and "Sprinkles" - abbreviated versions of classroom activities for use in after-school programs.
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Announcements
Find Your Green Career. -- Green360 has interest inventories, career coaching, and other tools to help students discover their future in sustainability fields. Learn more.
Engineering 4 U. -- Submit a short video to the National Academy of Engineering about achieving the "Grand Challenges" by March 2 for a chance to win $25,000. Learn more.
2015 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. -- Middle and high school students compete to build the cleverest contraption that can erase a chalkboard. Deadlines vary. Learn more.
Internet of Things. Young women 13 to 18 design ways to improve the world by harnessing the power of connected technologies. First round is March 2015. Learn more.
SMART Competition. -- High school students apply their knowledge of science, math, and physics to design an intelligent building. Register by January 16, 2015. Learn more.
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 It's never too early to learn about engineering. Along with our 5th Edition magazine and classroom cards, Engineering, Go For It offers an engaging children's book in its collection of learning materials.
"If I Were an Engineer," from the American Society for Engineering Education, is a fun, 40-page rhyming book that introduces engineering to kids 5 to 8 years old. It includes a parent page that explains the various engineering disciplines. Price: $7.95 Now available in our store. |
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