Primary Challenge Series (K-3)

In the newest Making Music Challenge, students explore sound and vibrations. Students learn how the human eardrum works and explore concepts such as pitch and longitudinal and transverse waves.

In the Pinball Designer Challenge, students build, test and modify a non-electronic pinball machine to create a toy that meets certain specifications. Concepts covered in this unit include gravity, potential and kinetic energy and inclined planes.

In the Engineering Inspired By Nature challenge, students investigate seeds that are dispersed by the wind. Concepts covered in this unit include gravity, drag, friction, velocity and acceleration.

In the Straw Rockets challenge, students explore the early life of Dr. Robert Goddard while reading the biography, The Rocket Age Takes Off. Concepts covered in this unit include Newton's Laws of Motion, Gravity, thrust, lift and drag.

In the Rolling Things Challenge, students explore how changing the ramp height and vehicle weight affect the momentum of toy cars. Concepts covered in this unit include gravity, potential and kinetic energy, friction, momentum, mass, velocity and acceleration.