Project

Engineering Design for Real-World Scenarios

Intro

Students use the engineering design process to solve real problems around their school. Each team gets a scenario, sketches a furniture design on isometric paper, turns it into a 3D model in Tinkercad, and prints a scaled prototype before building the full-size piece on a set budget. Finished products include a tiny food pantry, a laptop lost-and-found, courtyard seating, and recycling bins.

Science Domains: Engineering, Technology & Applications of Science, Physical Science

NGSS Standards: MS-ETS 1-3, MS-ETS 1-4, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2

Project Poster

Download the project poster as a PDF. The project poster includes a description of the challenge, learning goals, and a list of materials and references.

Download The Poster (PDF)

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Define a design problem, including its criteria and constraints.
  • Sketch designs on isometric paper and turn them into 3D digital models.
  • Build and test scaled prototypes, then evaluate them for improvement.
  • Build a full-size final product within a budget.
  • Explain how their design meets the needs of its users

Project Materials

Isometric paper, Tinkercad, 3D printer and filament, plywood and lumber, power drills, measuring tools, cardboard for prototypes.