Getting Started with Engineering

An engineering book for kids!
Engineers are experts on how things work. This book is your first step to developing the skills you need to design and build like an engineer. Tinker with fun projects that apply the Engineering Cycle to solve real-world problems.

• Load the bridge--design a virtual bridge then build and test a fun pasta model
• Alien invasion--design and craft a wearable toy using an electronic circuit and 3D printing
• Ride the coaster--construct a tiny roller coaster with drops, twists, and loops

Technology Requirements:
Hardware - PC or tablet with Internet connection running Windows 7 or higher or Mac with Internet connection running Mac OS X 10.7 or higher
Other materials - Common household materials including scissors, a trash bag, a marble, cotton balls, marshmallows, canola oil, foam tubing, and a kitchen scale (full materials list in the Introduction).

Introduction 1
About This Book 1
About You 3
About the Icons 4
The First Step 4
Project 1: Engineering 101 5
What Is Engineering? 5
Where Do Engineers Work? 5
What Are Some Engineering Fields? 6
What Is the Engineering Design Cycle? 7
What Does a Design Look Like? 8
What Is the Golden Rule of Engineering? 10
What Is the Iron Triangle of Engineering? 10
Mini Project: Classic Pocket Rocket 12
Project 2: Touchdown Mars 13
Introduction to Planetary Landers 13
Materials 15
Simulate a Landing with Technology 16
Play with a descent to Mars 16
Control a descent to Mars 18
Design Your Mars Lander 19
Build Your Mars Lander 21
Test Your Mars Lander 24
Improve Your Mars Lander 25
Aerospace Engineering and the Iron Triangle 25
Project 3: The Clock Is Ticking 27
All Here, In Order, On Time. Let's Go! 27
Materials 29
Simulate a Simple Logistics Process 30
Simulate a More Complex Logistics Process 32
Plan Your Industrial Engineering Process 34
Plan with a Gantt chart 34
Plan by acting it out 36
Implement Your Logistical Plan 37
Evaluate Your Success 39
Improve Your Process 39
Iron Triangle of Engineering 40
Gantt Charting with a Spreadsheet 40
Project 4: Squeaky Clean Up 42
Introduction to Oil Spill Clean Ups 42
Materials 44
Plan Your Oil Spill Clean-Up Process 45
Plan to contain the oil 46
Plan to skim the oil 46
Plan to use sorbents 46
Plan to disperse the oil 47
Sketch your process 48
Implement Your Clean-Up Process 49
Simulate the oil spill 49
Execute your clean-up plan 50
Evaluate Your Success 51
Improve Your Process 52
Iron Triangle of Engineering 53
Mini Project: Cleaning Feathers and Fur 54
Project 5: Load the Bridge 55
Civil Engineers Build the World 56
Introduction to Bridges 56
Materials 58
Model Your Bridge with Technology 58
Design Your Truss Bridge 63
Build Your Pasta Bridge 66
Test Your Pasta Bridge 68
Improve Your Bridge 70
Civil Engineering and the Iron Triangle 70
Project 6: Electric Alien Cap 73
Electronics 101 73
Electrical circuits 74
Symbols and schematics 74
Series and parallel circuits 75
Materials 77
Design Your Electric Alien Cap 79
Build Your Cap 80
Get your components ready 80
Mark your circuit onto the hat 81
Stitch the positive connections in your circuit 81
Stitch the ground connections in your circuit 83
Test Your Circuit 85
Improve Your Cap 85
Electrical Engineering and the Iron Triangle 85
Project 7: Now You're Cooking! 88
Early Mechanical Engineering 88
Archimedes the engineer 89
Energy everywhere 90
The First Law of Thermodynamics 90
Materials 91
Design Your Solar Oven 92
The Second Law of Thermodynamics 92
Oven design criteria 92
Build Your Design 94
Build the food chamber 94
Add the oven insulation 95
Attach the solar reflector 97
Test Your Design Plan 98
Improve Your Cooker 99
Solar Cooking and the Iron Triangle 100
Mini Project: Vdara Death Ray 102
Project 8: Roller Coaster Mania 103
Introduction to Roller Coasters 104
Mass in a roller coaster system 105
Energy in a roller coaster system 105
Materials 106
Model Your Coaster with Technology 106
Design Your Roller Coaster 112
Build Your Roller Coaster 113
Test Your Roller Coaster 116
Improve Your Roller Coaster 117
Entertainment Engineering and the Iron Triangle 117
Appendix: Cool Tools (and More!) 120