Every Thursday on the EiE Blog, we bring you helpful teaching tips and new resources for your engineering classroom.

Recently on the blog, we shared how EiE evaluators mapped our 20 elementary engineering curriculum units to state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We’re not the only organization thinking about alignment to STEM standards. Achieve, a Washington, D.C.-based education non-profit that works with states to improve standards, has created its own “EQuiP" rubrics to measure how different curricula align to NGSS.

States that adopt NGSS will likely turn to tools such as the EQuiP rubrics as they make important decisions about STEM curriculum. With that in mind, our team has now assessed the EiE curriculum units using the EQuip rubrics. You can examine these rubrics on the “Connections to Standards” page of our website.

Teachers from Curley K–8 School celebrate completing an EiE design challenge.

This week is National Engineers Week, an event that aims to get more kids interested in engineering careers. So it couldn't be a better time to announce a new collaboration between the Museum of Science and the Boston-based risk-modelling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) that will bring the Engineering is Elementary curriculum to six elementary schools in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) system.

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.