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Listed under:  Technologies  >  Engineering
Video

Use your creative thinking skills!

Ashwini Ranjithabalan from Women in Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) sees engineering as the business of solving future problems. What are some of the challenges we (and our societies) might face in the future? Get some friends together and see if you can brainstorm a list. Now choose one ...

Video

Thinking about the design process

Watch as UNSW student and Blusat member William Frohlich talks about the design process. What are some of the important things to consider before you start to make a project? Why does William say it's important to be flexible with your designs? Design your own obstacle course for your family using objects from around your ...

Video

What makes these paper planes fly?

Have you ever wondered what makes a paper plane fly? Think about the design of the paper plane as well as external factors like the various forces that are at play, then make a list of the design considerations and a list of the different forces.

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Engineering is futures-focused and multidisciplinary

In this lesson, students explore the multidisciplinary nature of contemporary engineering, and how engineering is pivotal to solving future challenges such as climate change, renewable energy and food security.

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 7–10)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Video

Salmon Growing in Tasmania: video

This is a video [5:52 min] about large scale farming salmon at Huon Aquaculture in southern Tasmania. It illustrates the the operation of the aquaculture business, its infrastructure, the salmon life cycle and the efficiency levels of salmon production gained. The commentary initially focuses on the importance of aquaculture ...

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

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For the Juniors: Balance is a matter of ballast

Have you seen large ships that carry shipping containers as cargo? In this clip we show you how these ships use ballast to help them balance their load. Find out what ballast is and how it stops a ship from sinking. Also see the massive engines on these big cargo ships.

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For the Juniors: Boats made from different materials

See how boats can be made from wood, fibreglass and aluminium. Watch film of some Aboriginal men making a bark canoe. See how a special mould is used to make boats made from fibreglass. Find out why aluminium is a useful metal for making boats.

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For the Juniors: First the base, then the frame

Come and see Hugo's house getting built. Find out how the concrete foundations are laid. What comes next? Carpenters build a wooden frame. Spot the tools used to build the house. How is each tool used?

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Growing carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are a very tiny but super strong material used in manufacturing to create strong, lightweight products. Besides sporting equipment, find out what other kinds of products are made using these tiny molecules. What other qualities (besides size and strength) do carbon nanotubes have that makes them even more ...

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Precision Sheep Management: video

This is a video (4:09 min) about the University of New England’s Kirby Research Station and how its work with sheep has been transformed by technology, particularly the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The video is presented by members of the Enhanced sheep wellbeing and productivity research program and includes ...

Video

Biofuels – From Sorghum to Ethanol (video)

This is a video [6:05 min] about the production of ethanol from sorghum at the Dalby Bio-Refinery in Queensland. The video describes and illustrates the stages in the production process including milling the sorghum into ‘flour’; mixing the flour with water to hydrolyse the starch; adding enzymes to liquefy the starch (the ...

Video

For the Juniors: Tall buildings that won't fall

What makes tall buildings strong and stable? View this clip to find out how a tall building made from concrete is made even stronger. Look at a model of the building to see how it will look when it's built. See if you can pick up some design tips to help you build your own tall structure!

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Benefits of teamwork in robotics

It takes team work to build robots! Oliver talks about how he didn't know too much about building robots when he first joined  3132 'Thunder Down Under', but by being in a team with others learned a lot of skills. He also talks about sharing ideas, and how valuable it is to make and learn from mistakes with others. Why ...

Video

Reverse engineering

This series of short videos from Khan Academy deconstruct and explain the way household items are designed and how they work including a digital alarm clock radio, a coffee maker, a tap light (a toggle switch light), a hair dryer, a DVD player, a universal remote and a digital camera.

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How do solar panels work?

The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That’s 10,000 times more power than the planet’s population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines how solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy. This TedEd animation (4:58 ...

Interactive

Design thinking across the curriculum

This cross-curriculum resource is designed to introduce Stage 2, 3 and 4 students to the design thinking process through a series of videos and interactive activities. This resource is also downloadable as a SCORM file: the downloaded version will only work if you upload it to a webserver, such as Moodle or Canvas.

Interactive

The bridge challenge

This interactive challenges students to select the most appropriate bridge design for four different sites including considering size, shape and building materials. The interactive is supported with information on the basics of bridge design.

Video

Different paper plane designs

How many different paper plane designs are there? Lots! Watch as Dylan Parker, paper plane expert, demonstrates some of his favourites. Notice the way the different shapes and features of the planes cause them to move through the air in different ways. Which one do you like the most? Why not have a go at making something similar?