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Building a weather satellite

Designers and engineers improve upon existing products all the time. How important do you think it is to update and enhance something like a weather satellite? Can you think of some other objects that could be improved upon?

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Learning from design 'mistakes'

Finding the solution to a design problem involves generating creative ways to address a need or difficulty. Design is the key and it often involves an engineer. In this clip, explore what an engineer is and what they do, and see an example of how NASA engineers might plan, create and test an idea to fix a space station.

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Thinking about the design process

Watch as UNSW student and Blusat member William Frohlich talks about the design process. What are some of the important things to consider before you start to make a project? Why does William say it's important to be flexible with your designs? Design your own obstacle course for your family using objects from around your ...

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Ever seen robots play sumo?

Watch this clip to see sumo robots in action! UNSW student and Robogals member Jonathan Loong explains how the game works. How do the robots know when to turn around and move back into the ring?

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Why become an engineer?

Are you interested in improving the way people live? What are some of the other reasons Ashwini Ranjithabalan gives for wanting to be an engineer?

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Catalyst: Can you solve the 'travelling salesman problem'?

Imagine you are a salesperson having to travel between multiple locations. How would you achieve this in the quickest way possible? This is a problem that has stumped mathematicians for decades, and there is even a prize for anyone who can come up with an algorithm to solve it. In this video, three methods are used to try ...

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Catalyst: Shining the light on a more sustainable globe

Artificial lighting methods have changed with the invention of new lighting technologies designed to be more energy efficient and to reduce the use of resources. Since electricity has been used as an energy source, incandescent and fluorescent globes and, more recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been used in our ...

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Design dilemma

This series of lessons aims to develop awareness of the needs of diverse commuters on our public transport system. Students investigate the challenges involved in getting on and off public transport for users with additional needs, for example commuters in wheelchairs. They work collaboratively in teams to investigate possible ...

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Drone search lesson

This lesson plan introduces students to the practice and applications of using drones to take aerial photographs. Students learn safety procedures regarding the use of drones then capture images of simulated disaster areas. Students observe the use of drones in science and technology-based endeavours and suggest new applications ...

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How 'binary information' is communicated via the internet

Ever wondered how your photos, emails and messages get sent between devices? Watch as software engineer Tess Winlock explains what binary information is, and how it gets from one place to another. Can you explain what 'bits' are? How about 'bytes'? In the past, binary information was sent using physical systems like semaphore ...

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What are IP addresses?

Meet Vint Cerf, the co-creator of the internet! In this clip, Vint and software engineer Paola Mejia explore the way computer networks talk to each other. Find out what an IP address is and why it's similar to a street address. What's the domain name system? And how does your computer find out the IP address of a website ...

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What makes the internet run reliably?

Watch this clip to see software engineer Lynn Root and co-creator of the internet Vint Cerf explain what keeps the internet running reliably. When information is sent on the internet, it is broken down into packets that are able to take a number of routes to get from one computer to another. Why might this be important? ...

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For the Juniors: Tall buildings that won't fall

What makes tall buildings strong and stable? View this clip to find out how a tall building made from concrete is made even stronger. Look at a model of the building to see how it will look when it's built. See if you can pick up some design tips to help you build your own tall structure!

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What skills are important for programming robots?

Listen as David McKinnon from UNSW describes some of the skills that are useful to have if you want to program robots. David explains an activity that exercises problem solving skills. Why don't you try doing it? Look at a map and find some towns that are close to yours. Use the scale on the map to work out the distances ...

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Green packaging lesson

This lesson plan engages students in finding ways to reduce plastic waste in food packaging. Students investigate problems created by plastic waste then observe ways these issues are being addressed. They design new packaging for food items that currently produce excessive waste then test their designs objectively. The ...

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What are pixels?

Meet Kevin Systrom and Piper Hanson as they explain how digital images work. What are pixels, those tiny dots of light, made from? How are colours created and represented? What does Kevin say about the way mathematical functions are used to create different image filters. What is the difference between image resolution ...

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Learning about computer languages

What happens when you type a web address or url into your computer and press enter? Watch this clip to find out! Computers and servers talk to each other in a language called HTTP. What are the messages they send and recieve mostly about? HTML is another language, one that tells a web browser how to make a web page look. ...

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Building spaghetti bridges

Have you ever tried making a bridge out of dried spaghetti? What about a spaghetti bridge that can support a roadway and small car? Watch as teams of first-year university students reveal and test their designs. How did they decide what kind of bridges to build? Have a go at designing, testing and building your own spaghetti ...

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Engineering clean rivers

Figuring out how to clean up contaminated rivers is a big challenge. It's also tricky to work out where the most contaminated parts of a river system are and whether its fish are safe to eat. Watch this video and learn how engineering has helped to solve these problems. Why do you think engineers looked to the bottom of ...

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Growing carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are a very tiny but super strong material used in manufacturing to create strong, lightweight products. Besides sporting equipment, find out what other kinds of products are made using these tiny molecules. What other qualities (besides size and strength) do carbon nanotubes have that makes them even more ...