ENGINEERING Courses

Whole-class Solutions for Grades 9-12

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ENGINEERING Courses

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Essentially,
engineering is the
intersection of science,
technology, and math.

Leading the Way Toward

Student Success in Engineering
The path to an engineering career doesnt start at college enrollment. For many, it
begins when they first stack blocks or spend an afternoon with construction toys.
For others, it begins with the wonderment of seeing their first skyscraper.
The inspiration to become an engineer often comes early the education necessary to transform
the inspiration into career knowledge should also start early. Through the Engineering Courses,
Pitsco Education provides high school students opportunities to apply science, technology,
math, and communication skills as they delve into the different fields of pre-engineering and
engineering concepts and principles. Designed as a whole class solution, the Engineering Courses
offer three years of curriculum to enable student exploration of careers in engineering.
So what sets the Engineering Courses apart from other high school engineering programs?
Flexible courses can be taken in a recommended order or to accommodate school schedules
and requirements. The nine- to 18-week Engineering courses can be implemented
as an individual course or as a one-, two-, or three-year program. And rather than
replacing traditional science and math curricula, the Engineering Courses
complement them with hands-on projects with real-world applications.
Students learn the importance of science and math principles
by applying them to engineering concepts.

ENGINEERING Courses
Curriculum
The Engineering Courses curriculum combines Pitsco Educations own

While construction of the project is a major component of the activities, it is

engineering teacher guides with the Contextual Engineering series developed

just the beginning. In the water rocket activities in Aerospace Engineering,

by Celeste Baine, and both use hands-on activities to introduce students to

for example, students investigate the effect of fuel pressure and fuel volume,

STEM concepts critical to understanding the principles of engineering.

compute rocket apogees, design fins, and complete an engineering challenge

We recommend Engineering Principles & Problem Solving as the first course, and
there is a suggested order for robotics courses that provides students maximum
benefit from the courses. We also suggest offering Senior Engineering Project
during the senior year due to the courses self-directed nature and the need for the
students to be experienced in engineering methods that are learned through other
Engineering Courses. The only prerequisite is Design Applications & Programming,
which must be completed before beginning Robotic Engineering Autonomous.
Engineering Course titles can be implemented as individual courses or as a one-,
two-, or three-year program. Add additional titles as demand increases or class
schedules allow. Courses are nine weeks except the Design Applications &
Programming course and the Senior Engineering Project, which are both 18 weeks.
A Scope & Sequence document for each course provides a road map of planned
activities it details reading assignments, assessments, activities, and more. Core
content teachers can monitor what activities are being done in the Engineering
Courses and provide correlations to those activities within their classes, if desired.
STEM instructors could also provide content-related material during class time.

to design and build a water rocket that travels to the highest apogee possible. In
the process, students measure, compute, collect and graph data, observe, record,
hypothesize, brainstorm, design, redesign, and communicate the results.

SAMPLE SCHEDULES
Engineering Course titles can be offered

1-year Introduction to Engineering Course Schedule

1st quarter

2nd quarter

Engineering Principles
& Problem Solving

Engineering Design
& Drafting

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Green Engineering

Civil Engineering

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

1st
year

Engineering Principles
& Problem Solving

Mechanical
Engineering

Green Engineering

Civil Engineering

2nd
year

Robotic Engineering
Remote Controlled

Aerospace
Engineering

Senior Engineering Project

3-year Engineering Course Schedule

2nd quarter

1st
year

Engineering Principles
& Problem Solving

Mechanical
Engineering

2nd
year

Robotic Engineering
Autonomous

Civil Engineering

3rd
year

Robotic Engineering
Remote Controlled

Aerospace
Engineering

sequence that accommodates school schedules

and requirements. Teachers can modify
course content to meet student needs.

2-year Advanced Engineering Course Schedule

1st quarter

in a recommended order or combined in a

3rd quarter

4th quarter

* Design Applications & Programming

Aeronautical
Engineering

Green Engineering

Senior Engineering Project

Engineering Course Titles

Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Civil Engineering
Design Applications & Programming
Engineering Design & CAD
Engineering Design & Drafting
Engineering Principles
& Problem Solving
Green Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Robotic Engineering Autonomous
Robotic Engineering
Remote Controlled
Senior Engineering Project

* Prerequisite
3

ENGINEERING Courses
Standards & Assessments
The curriculum in the Engineering Courses includes hard copy
pretests and posttests that can be photocopied by the teacher. An optional
online pre- or post-assessment is available. This online program enables
teachers and administrators to monitor student success in the program and
to compare data from other schools enrolled in the service. Individual student
data is available only to the teacher class scores and data are available above
the classroom level. A small per-student fee is charged for this feature.
All the activities within the Engineering Courses are correlated to national
standards: NSTA Science Standards, ITEEA Technology Standards, and NCTM
Math Standards. While some states have implemented engineering standards,
there is currently no set of national engineering standards available for K-12.

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Classroom Management
The information listed in the Scope & Sequence document is
recommended but flexible. If needed, certain activities can
be shortened or deleted. Or if students have extra time, other
activities may be added from the included Contextual Engineering
guides or the teacher guides. The courses are flexible enough to
meet changes that occur due to student pace, class schedules,
or other issues that can occur in the school environment.
The course package of equipment, supplies, and curriculum
is based on a recommended class size of 20 students.
Adequate storage facilities are needed for the materials
and equipment used. Lab tables for teams of two and
sometimes four students are ideal. If the optional online
assessment is used, students will need computer access.
Materials come prepackaged in stackable custom containers.
Shelving in a storage room would be ideal for the placement
of these containers but is not a requirement.

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ENGINEERING Courses
Tools and Equipment
The Engineering Courses are packaged with the necessary equipment
needed for the activities. Each team will have its own tools and equipment.
However, certain activities will require teams to share equipment.
For the initial order of an Engineering Course (dependent upon the courses), there will
be a Start-up Package that provides the tools and common supplies needed for most
courses. Tools such as pliers and tape measures are not duplicated if more than one course
is ordered. This applies to glue, waxed paper, and other materials and supplies as well.
The Start-up Package is not required for all courses. See course information for details.
As with most hands-on activities, some project materials need to be renewed after each
course. Consumable materials packages are available to restock supplies for each course.
With some courses, such as the robotic courses, many of the materials can be reused.
The curriculum guides, including resource pages, student procedures, vocabulary,
and assessments, are teacher reproducible for use in the classroom.
Some courses, such as Engineering Design & CAD, Design Applications &
Programming, and Robotic Engineering Autonomous require computers.
For these courses, one computer per team of two students is adequate. If the
online assessment option is purchased by the school, the assessments must be
completed online and would require computer access for each student.

Teacher Enablement
Engineering Courses use a traditional style of teaching and classroom management.
Teachers readily adapt to these activities. Included in the courses are DVDs that
provide video instruction detailing most of the construction components of the
activities. The how-to DVDs can be used as a primary source, or they can be used
as a supplement for students who may not be as adept at hands-on activities.
It would be advantageous for a teacher using Engineering Courses to have a strong background
in physical science, technology, or mathematics. Any experiences with hands-on activities
would also be a plus. Those teachers who have an engineering education background of any
kind would be good candidates for using Engineering Courses, but it is not a requirement.
Pitsco Educations great customer support is legendary. When you call during
office hours, you will be talking to a real person not a machine. The activities
within the courses are well-established and proven, and our customer service
personnel provide knowledgeable support to help you with any challenge.

ENGINEERING Courses
Course Overview
The purpose of Engineering Courses is to provide students with the opportunity to learn about various
engineering disciplines and experience and complete the types of projects and research on which
engineers work. Engineering Courses provide the hands-on component that is critical, but missing, in many

Elements of Engineering Courses

STEM programs.
Designed to offer optimum flexibility, Engineering Courses can be incorporated in support of existing
curriculum or as an entire course on its own. It fits easily into existing labs or classrooms and is easy for
teachers to use and store.

The Engineering Courses provide appropriate content; however, the courses focus is to provide
engineering experiences. The Engineering Courses are not a replacement for rigorous science, technology,
engineering, or math classes. Students take traditional core courses in conjunction with the Engineering
Courses to be more adequately prepared should they choose to enter an engineering school or any other
postsecondary education.

ADVANTAGES:

Deliver contextual STEM learning opportunities

Provide students with engineering experiences to promote enrollment and
achievement in core science, technology, and mathematics classes
Reach students early in their secondary education with experiences that
could influence their career choices

Create student excitement about hands-on activities to promote positive

feelings about education

Aid in meeting the coming need for engineers in the workplace 160,000 more
engineering positions between 2006 and 2016, according to projections from the
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note: Pitsco Education Engineering Courses are designed to complement a rigorous program of
math and science courses. Our courses do not eliminate the need for these courses.

Teacher guides provide the courses structure.

They contain teacher and student procedures,
career information, a glossary, and more.
Standard paper assessments are included whether
or not schools choose the online option.
Optional online assessments are included with 50
standards-correlated test questions per course.
Teachers can generate various reports to track
student progress.
National standards correlations are compiled for
lessons and challenges.
Hands-on activities are integrated into every
lesson to provide students ample opportunity to
apply engineering skills.
Competitive engineering challenges are open
ended to motivate students.
Consumable kits and materials are included so
students have everything they need for activities.
Supplemental texts and resources add depth of
content and interest.
A storage solution enables teachers to organize
and facilitate the activities while organizing
material and equipment.

Course Titles

Aeronautical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Robotic Engineering Autonomous

Civil Engineering

Robotic Engineering Remote Controlled

Design Applications & Programming

Senior Engineering Project

Engineering Design & CAD

Icon Key

Engineering Design & Drafting

Length of course in weeks.

Engineering Principles & Problem Solving

Uses resources from the Curriculum Resource Package.

Green Engineering

Prerequisite(s) required.

Uses tools from the Start-up Package.

Requires computers.

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Aeronautical Engineering
OVERVIEW
In Aeronautical Engineering, hot-air balloons and various types of model airplanes are used to illustrate
key principles of aeronautics and to develop associated skills. By constructing and launching hot-air
balloons, engineering students learn about and understand the significance of surface area, volume,
radius, and lifting force of the balloons as well as the gas laws and what forces act on the balloons.
They also learn how to make logic-based predictions. Then, students move on to airplanes the
basic paper airplane, balsa glider, foam wing glider, and rubber band-powered airplane. They learn
about aspect ratio, stability, thrust, drag, lift, gravity, initial velocity, control surfaces, and more.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
In the Surface Area and Volume activity, students use the hot-air balloons
they constructed in the previous activity. Applying area estimation
methods and formulas, they find the surface area of the tissue paper used
to build each balloon and of the gores cut from the tissue paper. Using this
information, they estimate the surface area of the assembled balloon.
Modeling the hot-air balloons as spheres, students then calculate the volume
in cubic units. They launch the balloons, recording the wind speed, outside
temperature, and flight time. All the data is recorded, graphed, and evaluated.

10

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Inflation Station balloon launcher

Foam Wing Cutter
Wing Tester
Balance or scale
Various small tools such as a hobby knife, scissors, and ruler
Assorted kits and materials
Aeronautical Engineering Teachers Guide
Model Airplanes Teachers Guide
Hot-Air Balloons Teachers Guide
Balsa Gliders Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Aeronautical Engineering Scope & Sequence

Aerospace Engineering
OVERVIEW
An excellent activity for experimentation, rocketry is thoroughly explored in Aerospace Engineering.
In this course, students build and launch rockets and record results from activities with four different
types of rockets: fun-and-easy straw rockets, air-powered tube rockets, water-fueled bottle rockets,
and solid-fuel rockets. With straw rockets, they understand center of gravity and independent,
dependent, and control variables. Using air-powered (AP) tube rockets, students learn how to
design a rocket experiment to achieve specific results and how to measure apogee using an
altimeter. Water-bottle rocket activities help students understand how to apply basic trigonometry
and to calculate apogee. Finally, students build and launch solid-fuel rockets to explore energy,
ascending and descending velocity, and the process of design and documentation.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
For the Computing Apogee II activity, students learn ways to calculate the
apogee of a water bottle rocket. They launch a rocket built in a previous
activity several times as they stand 10, 20, 30, and finally 40 meters from
the launchpad while recording the altimeter angle of each launch.
Using the recorded launch data and trigonometric functions, students
calculate the height of apogee for each rocket launch.

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Straw Rocket Launcher

AP Launcher with tire pump
AquaPort II Launcher with tire pump
LaunchGuard System
Balance or scale
Altimeter
Various small tools such as a hobby knife, scissors, and ruler
Assorted kits and materials
Aerospace Engineering Teachers Guide
Water Rockets Teachers Guide
Solid-Fuel Rockets Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Aerospace Engineering Scope & Sequence
11

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Civil Engineering
OVERVIEW
One of the most prominent forms of engineering, civil engineering, is the cornerstone of
modern society. In this course, students learn the principles important to building strong and stable
structures. The first unit focuses on foundational elements such as material strength, the strength
of different joints and shapes, load, compression, and tension. Students apply this information
in the following units where they build and test balsa wood bridges and
towers. They experiment to see how the structures stand up to strength,
mass distribution, and wave frequency testing and gain an
understanding of efficiency, load, wave forms, and more.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
Students take on the role of civil engineers by designing a bridge for the
state transportation department in the Designing for Efficiency activity.
Given a list of specifications for the roadbed, height, span,
substructures, and construction techniques, students brainstorm and
create sketches of several design options. This includes thorough
labeling and providing a scale. After selecting the best design,
students explain why the chosen design is the best option.

12

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Structure Tester
EQs Tremor Table and hardware
Digital scale or balance
Weights or masses
Calculator
Various small tools such as a hobby knife, scissors, clamps, and a ruler
Assorted kits and materials
Civil Engineering Teachers Guide
Balsa Bridges Teachers Guide
Earthquake Towers Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Civil Engineering Scope & Sequence

Design Applications & Programming

OVERVIEW
Working in teams, students build a fully functioning robot, use motors and
sensors to control it, and program it using National Instruments Engineeringbased icon language thats easy to learn and used widely in industry. As
they work with the latest in educational robotics, students learn about
energy, force, speed, power, simple machines, complex mechanisms,
coordinate systems, measuring, and more. Behaving like scientists and
engineers to create solutions to challenges, they test and refine their
problem-solving, teamwork, and creative-thinking skills.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
In the Obstacle Detection activity of the Robotics Engineering I curriculum,
students learn that the ultrasonic sensor can be used to recognize and avoid
objects. They build a robot with the touch sensor following step-by-step
instructions and then program it to move around obstacles it comes across.
The next phase has students learning how to incorporate the ultrasonic
sensor to avoid coming into contact with the obstacles. Finally, they answer
a series of questions to help them analyze the different sensors.

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Windows-based or Macintosh computer

NXT Intelligent Brick, servo motors, assorted sensors, converter cables,
connector cables, lamps, and Technic building elements
LEGO MINDSTORMS Education software, site license, and posters
Rechargeable batteries and charger, storage bin, and USB cable
NXT Robotics Engineering I: Introduction to Mobile Robotics
NXT Robotics Engineering II: Guided Research
Engineering the Future textbook
Design Applications & Programming Scope & Sequence

13

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Engineering Design & CAD
OVERVIEW
In the Engineering Design & CAD course, students are introduced to computer-aided drafting and
learn how to use it to design engineering projects. Working through the Introduction to Engineering
Design with SolidWorks guide, students build a solid foundation in how to use the SolidWorks
CAD program. They become familiar with the interface, understand the softwares function and
how to draw and create parts and assemblies, and complete several exercises and projects. In Unit
2, students model a TETRIX part and then use it to build and model a motorized
chassis with wheels. Then, they design and build a robot that moves
billiard balls to goals and another that completes a timed maze
challenge. These activities help students understand how to

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apply the SolidWorks concepts and skills they have learned.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
After learning how to design with the SolidWorks computer-aided
drafting program in Unit 1, students make use of these practical skills in
the Model TX activity. Here, young designers create a digital version of
a physical model they built earlier using the TETRIX building system.

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P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Windows-based computer
SolidWorks software site license
TETRIX Base Set
R/C controller
Pliers and hobby knives
Assorted kits and materials
TETRIX Builders Guide
Introduction to Engineering Design with SolidWorks
TETRIX Robotics video
Engineering the Future textbook
Engineering Design & CAD Scope & Sequence

6006

Engineering Design & Drafting

OVERVIEW
First, students learn about drafting tools and instruments and basic concepts for using them, such
as lettering, measuring, and line conventions. After they master these basics, they move on to
dimensioning including holes and drawing techniques. Throughout the course, students learn
techniques common to all areas of drafting. In both units, students are challenged with drawing
exercises. These help teachers assess students on their knowledge of the material by allowing them to
demonstrate the drafting concepts and techniques they have learned.

Scop
Sequenece&

Engineeri

Engineerin

ng Design

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
Students prepare to start drafting as they learn about the tools of the trade in the
Drafting Equipment activity. One at a time, students learn about and then learn to
use the following items: triangles, protractors, compasses, dividers, erasers and eraser
shields, French curves, technical pens, templates, scales, and drafting machines. Students
utilize these tools in the production of both full-scale and scaled technical drawings.

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

g Academ
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& Drafting

2009
-2010 Pitsc
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All right
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Student Drafting Kit (contains drawing board,

instruments, and equipment)
Vertical Lettering Template
Geometric Designer Template
Instructional Workbook for Drafting Level I
Instructional Workbook for Drafting Level I Instructors Guide
Exploring Drafting book
Engineering Design & Drafting Scope & Sequence

15

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Engineering Principles & Problem Solving
OVERVIEW
Designed to give students the essential skills to succeed in the Engineering Courses, the Engineering
Principles & Problem Solving course delves into measurement, force and motion, and energy.
This is the suggested first course for the Engineering Courses. By working with and making rulers,
students learn about linear measurement and fractions. As they create a Rube Goldberg-inspired
machine, students discover how to use simple machines together to create mechanical advantage.
And they apply concepts such as kinetic and potential energies, velocity, and designing for efficiency
and to specifications by building and experimenting with mousetrap and egg-drop vehicles.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
The Simple Machines: Pulleys activity provides students the opportunity
to learn about the mechanical advantage gained by using a pulley.
Experimenting with a Forces & Simple Machines Kit, students create
fixed and movable pulley systems. They use spring scales and hooked
masses to determine the force required to hold up each mass with
each pulley system, recording the data as they go. Students evaluate
the data to answer questions about mechanical advantage, angle
of effort, and which system would be best to lift a large load.

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P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
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Linear measuring tools

Digital scale and balance
Cool-melt glue gun
Small tools such as a hobby knife and scissors
Assorted kits and materials
Engineering Principles Teachers Guide
Mousetrap Vehicles Teachers Guide
Egg-Drop Vehicles Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Engineering Principles & Problem Solving Scope & Sequence

Green Engineering
OVERVIEW
Green careers are predicted to have exponential growth, making green engineering skills not only
important for the future of the environment but also for future career potential. In Green Engineering,
students learn how to become energy conscious and to assess the environmental impact of products.
Then, they delve into green technologies by experimenting with solar vehicles, solar cookers, wind
turbines, maglev technology, and fuel cell vehicles. Plus, they learn about recycling and watersheds.
Throughout the course, students are challenged to apply
what they learn to assess and offer suggestions to make their
school and homes more energy efficient, to design an offthe-grid house, and to create a water-filtration system.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
The culminating activity for Unit 1 is the Sustainable School Challenge,
which encourages students to utilize the knowledge they gained about
alternative energy and energy consciousness in earlier activities.
To complete the challenge, students work in teams of four to evaluate their own schools
sustainability. Using an electrical watt meter and a careful physical examination of the
school building, they collect data regarding the buildings construction, water heating,
heating and cooling systems, lighting, and more. Each team makes recommendations
for ways the school can become more energy efficient and use alternative energies.

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Wind turbine model

Solar and fuel cell vehicles
Solar cooker
Various small tools such as a hobby knife and scissors
Watt meter, stopwatch, ruler, and protractor
Computer with Internet access and PowerPoint
Sustainable Energy Engineering Teachers Guide
SunEzoon Cars Teachers Guide and Wind Energy Teachers Guide
Environmental Engineering Teachers Guide
Maglev Vehicles Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Green Engineering Scope & Sequence

17

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Mechanical Engineering
OVERVIEW
What would our world be like without cranes for building, vehicles for traveling, or machines for
production? None of these would be possible without mechanical engineering understanding energy
and forces and applying them to create solutions. By building electric, solar,
and mousetrap vehicles in the first unit, students understand performance,
energy, and other concepts relating to vehicles. In the second unit, students
use cranes to learn about the correlation between load and angles and
experiment with catapults and trebuchets to learn about force, initial
velocity, and potential and kinetic energy. Finally, they build and
modify a hydraulic robotic arm to learn how to calculate
mechanical advantage and create an electromagnet.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
In the Trebuchets activity, students construct a model
trebuchet and experiment with it to learn about variables,
prediction, and potential and kinetic energies.
Using projectiles of various masses, students launch the projectiles and
try to hit a bucket. Considering the launch outcome of each mass and a
possible redesign of the trebuchet and its counterweight, they predict
the outcome for two different masses. They launch these projectiles
and see if their predictions were accurate. In the process, students
learn about trajectory and how to calculate potential energy.

18

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Solar and mousetrap vehicles

Model catapult, trebuchet, and robotic arm
Tape measure and ruler
Calculator
Various small tools such as scissors and needle-nose pliers
Assorted materials
Solar Vehicles Teachers Guide
Mechanical Engineering Teachers Guide
Catapults Teachers Guide
Trebuchets Teachers Guide
T-Bot II Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Mechanical Engineering Scope & Sequence

Robotic Engineering Autonomous

OVERVIEW
From a Roomba cleaning floors to driverless vehicles racing through a desert,
autonomous robots are in the news and our lives. Using the flexible TETRIX
building system with the LEGO NXT Intelligent Brick, students learn to
design and program basic autonomous robots. They create robots
to perform gymnastics and dance maneuvers as well as learn how
to use sensors and to adjust the speed, turning radius, and travel
distance of the robots. After the introductory activities, students choose
two TETRIX-NXT challenges to complete. These challenges are designed to
push their design and programming knowledge beyond the basics while
encouraging them to create and explore their own robotic imaginings.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
Students start this course with the fun Robot Gymnastics activity. After following
step-by-step instructions for building a kip bar and a robot gymnast that
spins on it, students learn how to program the robots gymnastics routine.
They use the LEGO MINDSTORMS components, software, and a computer
along with an understanding of pivots and range of motion to create a
program with as many tricks and spins as possible in a 20-second routine.

Design Applications & Programming and Robotic Engineering

Remote Controlled are prerequisites for this course.

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

TETRIX Base Set

TETRIX Resource Set
NXT Intelligent Brick, servo motors, assorted sensors, converter cables,
connector cables, lamps, and Technic building elements
LEGO MINDSTORMS Education software, site license, and posters
Windows-based or Macintosh computer
Hard Point Connectors
ChallengePak
TETRIX Autonomous Robotics Engineering Teachers Guide
TETRIX-NXT Challenges
TETRIX Robotics video
Engineering the Future textbook
Robotic Engineering Autonomous Scope & Sequence

19

ENGINEERING Course Titles

Robotic Engineering Remote Controlled
OVERVIEW
Robots are everywhere in manufacturing plants, helping bomb squads disable explosives, in underwater
explorations, and even surveying the Mars landscape. And there is no better way to build excitement for
engineering than to have students build and operate their own robots. Using the flexible TETRIX building
system and other available materials, Robotic Engineering Remote Controlled provides an exciting
exploration into robotic design, construction, and operation. This course is designed to introduce students
to the engineering concept of robotics in a fun and creative way. They learn the basics of building a robot
and then stretch their imaginations to design robots that dance, herd, crush PingPong balls, and more. Plus, they become proficient at operating the remote
control to make their robots go through mazes and other activities.

SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
After learning the basics of robot construction, students focus on creative
problem solving using the TETRIX building system. In the Robot Artist
activity, they design and build a robot that can hold markers to draw
on a paper canvas on the floor. First, students apply their knowledge of
end effectors and robot maneuverability to create a robot design.
After building the design, they hone their skills as remote-control
operators to create a pattern, design, or image on the canvas.

20

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

TETRIX Base Set

Motor Speed Controller
Remote control
Digital scale
Small tools such as screwdrivers and markers
Various common materials such as tape and paper
Assorted items to be moved by robots
TETRIX R/C Robotics Engineering Teachers Guide
Engineering the Future textbook
Robotic Engineering Remote Controlled Scope & Sequence

Senior Engineering Project

OVERVIEW
After working through several semesters of the Engineering Courses, some students are well-served
by experiencing a real-life project like the one outlined in the Senior Engineering Project course.
During this semester, students develop their own engineering project and go through the same
processes as a professional engineer. The Teacher and Student Outlines detail the necessary parts
and processes of the project from the initial spark and gathering resources to the final construction
and project presentation. Each student, in consultation with the instructor, determines the scale and
detail of his or her project. The course includes a PowerPoint presentation to kick
ect

off the project. The Senior Engineering Project course materials

are free with the purchase of four Engineering Courses.

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SAMPLE ACTIVIT Y
The open-ended nature of this course means that almost any activity is possible;
however, the components of the project are the same no matter if they are
designing a rocket or a robot. Students begin by developing a project proposal
with a detailed written description and sketches. Next, they determine what
resources they need and have available, followed by creating a budget.
The design and experimentation stage begins the hands-on element of

P R I M A R Y E Q U I P M E N T,
M AT E R I A L S , A N D R E S O U R C E S

Digital projector

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Student equipment needs vary depending on project

Assorted materials as required by the chosen project
Senior Engineering Project Teacher and Student Outlines
Senior Engineering Project Introduction on PowerPoint

the course, and students follow this by completing the final version of their
project. To end the course, each student delivers a project presentation.

21

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