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Listed under:  Technologies  >  Materials
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Stone Tools

In this series of activities, students investigate stone tools and how the properties of a stone influence its use. Students justify what type of stone would be best for making different tools and analyse how the properties of a stone determine its use, then conduct an investigation to assess the grinding potential of different ...

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Material Sort

In this series of activities, students examine different materials, exploring how they can be described and categorised based on their observable properties. Students observe and describe different materials, then compare, contrast and categorise materials based on their observable properties.

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Electrifying Vehicles

In this activity, students explore vehicles powered by electricity. They explore the story of the Lucas Bedford electric van, make a battery-powered car in a hands-on design challenge, and then use the specifications of different electric vehicles to plan a road trip.

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Cameras in Disguise: Design Challenge

In this activity, students design a camouflaged camera that can be used to record footage of a native Australian animal. Students must consider both the behaviour of the animal and the conditions of the environment in which the animal lives to make their designed solution.

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Earthquake-Resistant Building Challenge

In this activity, students are the engineers tasked with designing and building a three story building that can resist large earthquakes. They will follow the design-thinking framework to investigate the problem, design an earthquake-resistant building, create and test the building, and then refine their designs to withstand ...

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Chair for bears

In this module, students investigate the common design features of chairs and how different types of chairs fit different sized people and have a range of purposes. They discuss the size and shape of different toys and analyse the requirements for a suitable chair for their toy. The module includes a comprehensive teacher ...

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Animal rescue

This set of learning activities challenges students to design and make a model of a structure that animals can use to cross a road safely. The module includes a comprehensive teacher guide, curriculum links, materials lists, design process guides and printable student resource sheets. The resource also provides an editable ...

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Water turbine | Questacon

In this activity, students make and test a simple water-driven turbine. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what to do and notice, questions to ask, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions for other related activities.

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Water flow

In this module, students discuss the importance of water and discover effective ways of transporting it to meet personal and community needs. The module includes a comprehensive teacher guide, curriculum links, materials lists, design process guides and printable student resource sheets. The resource also provides an editable ...

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Cryptic code

This set of learning activities engages students in designing bilingual signs using local aboriginal languages. The module includes a comprehensive teacher guide, curriculum links, materials lists, design process guides and printable student resource sheets. The resource also provides an editable module template, is supported ...

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Classify your toys | Questacon

In this activity, students collect and sort different toys based on the features they observe such as size, shape, colour and materials. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what to do and notice, questions to ask, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions ...

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Keep your cool | Questacon

In this activity, students design an insulation system for keeping ice cold. They investigate factors that effect how quickly an ice block melts when in sunshine, then design and test insulating mechanisms using different materials and structures. They consider the different ways heat energy is transferred (conduction, ...

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The long walk

This set of learning activities challenges students to design shoes using recycled materials. The module includes a comprehensive teacher guide, curriculum links, materials lists, design process guides and printable student resource sheets. The resource also provides an editable module template, is supported by online professional ...

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Our magnificent thing

This module focuses on repurposing rubbish, giving students the opportunity to consider sustainability and the impact of their lifestyle choices on the environment. Based on the fiction picture book, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires, students are encouraged to repurpose recyclable items to create their own most ...

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Bouncing balls | Questacon

In this activity, students investigate potential energy and the conservation of energy in the context of bouncing objects. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what to do and notice, questions to ask, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions for other ...

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Parachutes | Questacon

In this activity, students investigate the motion of falling objects, with and without a parachute. They explore whether different objects fall at different speeds and predict how different materials for making parachutes will perform. They then design, make and test their own toy parachutes. The activity includes a list ...

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Biofabrication – communicating STEM frontiers

In this lesson students learn about biomedical engineering and the emerging field of biofabrication.

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Flight Club: Teacher Resource Book

This series of activities investigates how members of the animal kingdom achieve flight, and how biological understandings can be combined with design and technologies concepts to support and extend student engagement with science.

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Transportation Innovation

In this activity, students participate in a design challenge to use natural materials to design and create a tool that can be used to transport an object between two places. The activity provides students with an opportunity to explore how natural materials can be changed and combined to solve problems (Year 2) and use ...

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Evaporation Innovation

In this activity, students are engineers tasked with developing an innovative solution that will reduce the rate of evaporation experienced by a local dam, reservoir or weir. Following the completion of the design challenge, students may explore how people in design and technologies fields have responded to similar issues.