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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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For the Juniors: Balance is a matter of ballast

Have you seen large ships that carry shipping containers as cargo? In this clip we show you how these ships use ballast to help them balance their load. Find out what ballast is and how it stops a ship from sinking. Also see the massive engines on these big cargo ships.

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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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Landline: Drones and bugs

We don't normally associate robotics with farming but, in fact, robotics have revolutionised farming and agriculture in recent years. Find out how some strawberry farmers are using drones to disperse 'good' bugs for pest control management. Can you think of some other ways drones could be used to help farmers?

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All about engines

What does 'horsepower' really mean? And how do engines work? Join Luke and Abhi from MIT to find out! As Abhi explains, engines produce power by forcing a mixture of fuel and air into a tight space and then burning it. Piston engines and turbine engines do this in similar, yet different ways. After watching this video, ...

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For the Juniors: Boats made from different materials

See how boats can be made from wood, fibreglass and aluminium. Watch film of some Aboriginal men making a bark canoe. See how a special mould is used to make boats made from fibreglass. Find out why aluminium is a useful metal for making boats.

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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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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.

Interactive

Wing loading

Wing loading is a measurement that relates the mass of an aircraft or bird to the total wing area. This resource provides an interactive for students to compare flight capabilities of planes with birds, matching those that are the most similar.

Online

Kites

In this practical activity, students will learn about types of kites, some kite history and how kites fly before making and flying a kite themselves. The activity includes a teacher guide and student worksheet.

Online

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 ...

Online

Meet the food system

This unit of work consists of two parts, supported by lesson plans, slides and handouts and teachers guides. The first part examines the food system as a complex network that is deeply connected to health, society, and the environment. The second part explores key milestones in the history of agriculture, with a focus on ...

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How to grow a pair of jeans

This is a slideshow for primary students that traces the steps in cotton production and processing from seeds to jeans. The ten slides in the show use photographs and relatively simple text to cover ground preparation for the cotton crop; seed planting; irrigation and the efficient use of water by Australian cotton farmers; ...

Online

How do you like your eggs?

This is a teacher resource containing a sequence of inquiry relating to egg production systems used by egg farmers in Australia. It contains material to assist planning, implementing and assessing a research task about the egg production systems and the management techniques used to produce eggs, the claims associated with ...

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The Australian cotton story

This is a nine-minute video about cotton cultivation in Australia and cotton's importance for Australians. Intended for a mid to upper primary school audience, it depicts a family sowing, irrigating, spraying and harvesting cotton on their farm at Dalby, Queensland. It also illustrates the life cycle of the cotton plant ...

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Reverse engineering

This series of short videos from Khan Academy deconstruct and explain the way household items are designed and how they work including a digital alarm clock radio, a coffee maker, a tap light (a toggle switch light), a hair dryer, a DVD player, a universal remote and a digital camera.

Interactive

Opencourses Hub

The hub provides access to a wide range of resources developed to support remote Indigenous students. The resources employ multimodal learning frameworks to improve student engagement and overcome literacy barriers in order to provide a positive learning experience for Year 8 – 12 students while building students' self-confidence ...

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Imagining other uses for robotics technology

It's cool to program robots to play football, but there are many more useful applications for programming robots to react to what they are seeing. What are some of the examples David McKinnon gives? Can you think of some more examples?

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And now to build the satellite!

Once the design plan for a satellite is approved, it's important to identify the appropriate materials, tools and equipment needed to construct the new product. Watch this clip to find out what an engineer might do to select and test the components and techniques needed to build a satellite like NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. ...

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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?