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Listed under:  Technologies  >  Engineering
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Beyond Earth: Shelter from the Elements

This resource provides a scaffold for students to undertake a design challenge. The design challenge requires students to develop a shelter that protects humans from the hostile conditions on another planet. Students draw on their existing scientific understanding (for example, conductors and insulators), along with their ...

Downloadable

Walking on Crushed Glass

This is an illustrated story of a real-life engineering solution designed to recycle glass waste and reuse it as reinforcement for concrete used in footpaths. The book explains the process of innovation to reach a viable solution. It shows the creativity, innovation and collaboration required to provide a solution that ...

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 ...

Interactive

Science Talk 2007: Jack Bacon

An interview with Dr Jack Bacon, NASA engineer and futurist. Jack talks to a teacher from Sydney Girls High School about his experiences on the Vomit comet and his research into alternative energy sources. Jack also shares with us his predictions for the future of science, space travel and energy sources.

Video

Melbourne Recital Centre

This 6 minute video segment from Catalyst explains how understanding the properties of sound and modelling has been successfully applied to create the ideal space for recitals.

Video

And now to build the satellite!

Once the design plan for a satellite is approved, it's important to identify the appropriate materials, tools and equipment needed to construct the new product. Watch this clip to find out what an engineer might do to select and test the components and techniques needed to build a satellite like NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. ...

Video

How to build a Mars rover

Imagine if you were building a robot to help you explore Mars. That's exactly what these engineering students are doing. Watch this video to find out about their design process. How important do you think it is to test and review the final product after it has been built?

Video

Ever seen robots play sumo?

Watch this clip to see sumo robots in action! UNSW student and Robogals member Jonathan Loong explains how the game works. How do the robots know when to turn around and move back into the ring?

Video

Why become an engineer?

Are you interested in improving the way people live? What are some of the other reasons Ashwini Ranjithabalan gives for wanting to be an engineer?

Video

For the Juniors: Ramping up the fun

Join Winston as he tests which materials slide down a ramp. Which ones will slip and which ones will grip? He's testing a wooden block, a stone, a glass bottle and an eraser. Predict what will happen. Watch to see if your prediction was right.

Video

What are IP addresses?

Meet Vint Cerf, the co-creator of the internet! In this clip, Vint and software engineer Paola Mejia explore the way computer networks talk to each other. Find out what an IP address is and why it's similar to a street address. What's the domain name system? And how does your computer find out the IP address of a website ...

Video

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

For the Juniors: Wheely good wheels

Wheels are round and come in many sizes, but how does a wheel turn? In this clip we show you how a wheel and axle work together to provide movement.

Video

Design processes for building robots

If you had to build a robot, where would you start? A good place to start is by brainstorming ideas with others. Think about your objectives, then think of other factors like the resources and the time you have available to you. Next, get some pen and paper and start drawing what you think your robot should look like based ...

Video

Engineering clean rivers

Figuring out how to clean up contaminated rivers is a big challenge. It's also tricky to work out where the most contaminated parts of a river system are and whether its fish are safe to eat. Watch this video and learn how engineering has helped to solve these problems. Why do you think engineers looked to the bottom of ...

Video

Telling robots what to do

If you were programming a robot to play a competitive game of soccer, what are some of the things you would consider? Think about some of the most basic functions of a robot, like walking, stopping and turning, to more complicated functions like recognising objects and reacting to them in a specific way.

Video

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?

Video

For the Juniors: Getting your boat into shape!

A ball of plasticine sinks. Could you change its shape to make it float? Watch this clip to see some plasticine being made into different shapes. Find out which shape floats. Take a look at the shape of a motor boat. Why is it pointy at the front?

Video

Spark: A better way to predict the spread of bushfires

In recent years, new technologies have helped us respond to natural disasters more quickly by providing up-to-date information as it becomes available. What if we could take this one step further with new technologies that can also predict disasters? Learn how Spark, which uses our existing knowledge of bushfire behaviours ...

Video

For the Juniors: Super-fast jet boats

Jet boats can go really fast. Instead of an outboard motor and propeller, jet boats have an inboard engine and they eject a jet of water out the rear of the boat. Watch this clip to see how they work.