Inside Engineering

We’re excited to bring a brand new version of Inside Engineering and Engineering Speaks, straight to you at home! We understand the need for engaging, high-quality engineering content in our community and can’t wait for you to check out the new, digital formats for these two programs.

While we unfortunately aren’t able to host lab visits on campus this year due to the ongoing pandemic, we’re delighted to bring you hands-on, engaging engineering design activities that you can do right in your own homes and classrooms. Each of these activity lessons tie in directly with NGSS standards and are inspired by Columbia Engineering research labs who have hosted visitors through our programs in the past. Check out the information sections below for more details!

Get Involved

January 2021 Lessons

Check out and download these activities! Materials from the previous months can be explored in the drop down tabs below.

Note: Download links are currently hosted externally at box.com. 

Inside Engineering - Lasers & Reflections

Lesson: Lasers & Reflections

Engineering Area: Applied Physics, Grades 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Jello Waveguides, Total Internal Reflection

Inside Engineering - Coding Holiday Messages

Lesson: Coding Holiday Messages (Binary Beads)

Engineering Area: Computer Science, Grades 6-8

Activity: Using Binary Beads to Code Holiday Messages

Inside Engineering - Water Quality & Treatment

Lesson: Water Quality & Treatment

Engineering Area: Earth & Environmental Engineering, Grades 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Water Filtration System Design Challenge

Inside Engineering - Oil Spill Cleanup

Lesson: Oil Spill Cleanup

Engineering Area: Earth & Environmental Engineering, Grades 3-5, 6-8

Activity: Oil Spill Cleanup

Inside Engineering - Play Dough Engineering

Lesson: Play Dough Engineering

Engineering Area: Chemical Engineering, Grades 3-5, 6-8

Activity: Make It Stick!

Lesson: Robots vs. Machines

Engineering Area: Mechanical Engineering, Grades 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Robot Factory, Rube Goldberg Machine

Inside Engineering - Building Robot Arms Activity

Lesson: Building Robot Arms

Engineering Area: Mechanical Engineering, Grades 3-5, 6-8

Activity: Robot Arms Engineering Design Activity

Inside Engineering: Roller Coaster Movement Activity

Lesson: Forces, Motion, and Momentum

Engineering Area: Applied Physics, Grades 6-8

Activity: Roller Coaster Movement

Inside Engineering: Toothpick Towers & Bridges

Lesson: Toothpick Towers & Bridges

Engineering Area: Civil Engineering, Grades 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Building Toothpick Towers & Bridges

Inside Engineering: Exploring Prosthetic Hands

Lesson: Exploring Prosthetic Hands

Engineering Area: Biomedical Engineering, Grades 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Exploring Prosthetic Hands

Inside Engineering: Nanomaterials, Light, and Wavelengths

Lesson: Nanomaterials, Light, and Wavelengths

Engineering Area: Applied Physics, Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Activity: Nanomaterials, Light, and Wavelengths

Inside Engineering: Prisms & Colors of Light

Lesson: Prisms & Colors of Light

Engineering Area: Applied Physics, Grades 3-5, 6-8

Activities: Refracting to Rainbows, Diffracting Light

Educators interested in signing up for weekly engineering design activity lessons and opportunities for connecting their students with virtual meetings with engineering experts will soon be able to register for the full Inside Engineering program through Explorable Places. Teachers and students that complete a series of activities will unlock opportunities to chat with engineering experts directly. 

We will be adding the registration link and information soon, so stay tuned!

Email [email protected] with any questions.

We’d love to hear from you and have you involved! Interested in sharing samples of your work from these activities? Have a suggestion for an activity or have one to share? Fill out our form to contribute your ideas! Click here for the form.

You can also reach out to us by email at: [email protected].