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Listed under:  Technologies  >  Design  >  Inventions
Listed under:  Arts  >  Design  >  Inventions
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I am an inventor lesson

In this lesson, students explore the life, work and times of Rube Goldberg. The lesson uses Rube Goldberg’s work to teach students about simple machines, how they function and their design principles. Working in groups, the students then design and create a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete a simple task. Students ...

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Food innovation and molecular gastronomy lesson

In this lesson, students explore connections between science, design, and technologies through the lens of food innovation and food science. Students look at interesting and unusual food products, using food textures as a jumping off point to explore the relationship between chemistry and food. Students then experiment ...

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Slaves using a cotton gin, 1869

This is a black-and-white illustration captioned 'The first cotton gin'. It shows how the US artist William L Sheppard imagined the scene of the first gin in operation, some 80 years after the actual event. Sheppard depicts two male slaves operating the machine with two white men examining the ginned cotton while female ...

Online

Archives ACT: find of the month

This topic-based collection of primary source material provides a rich and varied source of official documents, guides and background information on the civic history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. Produced monthly, this eclectic collection covers topics including the history of monuments, architecture, ...

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Sheep washing at 'Collaroy' station, 1872

This is an image from a wood engraving, measuring 35.0 cm x 23.6 cm, showing an elaborate steam-driven sheep washing plant at 'Collaroy' station in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales. It shows sheep moving through several stages of scouring, washing and rinsing. Large boilers and engines are housed in sheds on the ...

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Lawrence Hargrave with box kites, 1894

This is a sepia photograph, measuring 24.2 cm x 29.3 cm, of aeronautical inventor Lawrence Hargrave (left) and an unidentified man in Stanwell Park, on the coast between Sydney and Wollongong, New South Wales. They are assembling five box kites and joining them together, in preparation for using them to lift a man into ...

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Winding gear animation

This animated resource is about technical innovations in 19th-century Britain. It shows the winding gear used in coalmines to raise and lower people or equipment in a cage. Background material is provided, an animation shows how the winding gear operates and a quiz tests students' knowledge of the names of the parts of ...

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Spinning mill animation

This resource is about spinning mills in 19th-century Britain. The animation shows how a spinning mill used line shafting to spin cotton. Students read text material, then view the stages of line shafting: coal-fired furnaces produce steam, which passes through the valves and powers the piston rod; the piston rod transfers ...

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Blast furnace animation

This resource is about blast furnaces and innovations in smelting iron in 18th-century Britain. The animation show how a blast furnace used a combination of iron ore and limestone with coke to produce iron. Students read text material and then view the animation, which also includes a segment on how to build a blast furnace.

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Beam engine animation

This animated resource is about innovation in steam engine technology in 19th-century Britain. It shows an early steam engine called the beam engine, which was developed to pump out floodwater from the deep mines in Cornwall. It includes background material, an animation of the workings of the beam engine, a clear, detailed ...

Online

Unconsious bias: You can be a scientist: STEM careers

This is a unit of work about the work of scientists and science careers; particularly what common stereotypes, prejudices and perceptions exist regarding who can or should become scientists. The resource includes: An introduction with teacher notes, student tasks, embedded videos and links to additional resources. Specific ...