Every Thursday on the EiE Blog, we bring you useful tips for teaching classroom engineering.

Measuring range of motion with a goniometer.

The Engineering is Elementary curriculum unit "No Bones About It" gives students a chance to apply their science knowledge to a real-world engineering challenge: designing a knee brace to support an injured knee. To do the challenge, students need a model leg with a knee that really bends!

You make this model in advance using cardboard mailing tubes and a wiffle ball. Your teacher guide has detailed directions for how to do it, but if you're not the "crafty" type, you might want a little extra help. That's why we also have a short "How-to" video that breaks the task into easy-to-understand steps.

Do you teach the EiE unit "Sounds Like Fun: Seeing Animal Sounds"? Our professional development collaborators at the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) have a big list of handy tips for teaching the acoustical engineering activities in this unit. Here are two of our favorites.

The DoSeum in San Antonio emphasizes hands-on learning.

Last summer the San Antonio Children's Museum, a beloved local institution, moved into a new space—described by the San Antonio Current as a "singular looking complex with Mad Max vibes." It also took a new name, The DoSeum (pronounced "Do - See - um"), to reflect a new emphasis on getting visitors to engage and do, not just look around. It opened new exhibits like "Innovation Station," focused on the engineering design process. And it set a new goal: To serve as a bridge connecting formal and informal STEM education efforts in the city. We're excited and honored to share that The DoSeum will use the Engineering is Elementary curriculum to aid in their efforts.

Each Thursday on the EiE blog, we answer your questions or offer handy teacher tips.

Q: I want my middle schoolers to do some engineering. Will the Engineering is Elementary curriculum work for me?

A: The short answer is, "Possibly!"

Even though EiE's design is based on research on what "works" for STEM education for grades 1–5, we often hear from teachers who are using EiE units in their middle school classrooms with great success . . . not to mention kindergarten and high school!

In the hit movie The Martian, Matt Damon plays NASA scientist Mark Watney, who gets marooned on Mars. The situation is dire, but Watney shows grit (plus extreme science and engineering skills) as he jury-rigs devices to make oxygen and water, repair his shelter, and communicate with the folks back on Earth. Who knew that problem-solving and the engineering design process could make for a thrilling Hollywood spectacle?