The aim of this resource is to give students the opportunity to investigate the science, technology, engineering and mathematics behind aircraft design. Students will explore the forces acting on an aircraft during flight and use the iterative design process to design and improve the perfect paper aircraft.

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From Practical Action and the Royal Academy of Engineering, this short starter activity helps students to think about their own values and those of their peers in relation to the sustainability of engineering. The activity encourages an awareness of the impact of engineering on the environment and sustainability....

The 'big ideas' section of the Fixpert's resource focuses on big ideas. It introduces students to designing as an approach to problem solving and to designing for the real world and real problems. In particular, students are encouraged to consider different users and their needs, along with ergonomics and human-...

This engineering challenge asks students to create a minute-long digital animated film that tells a creative, fictional story about a concept related to engineering. The resource provides questions to support students through the process of planning their video and asks them to create a storyboard before filming to...

Design for a better world is a design challenge for students aged 11-14 years. It offers students the opportunity to:

• Learn about the global goals for sustainable development.
• Access a range of global contexts including water and sanitation, food security and climate action in which to...

The ‘development’ section of the Fixpert's resource focuses on creating and testing a prototype for an outcome that meets their fix partner’s needs. Students build critical skills through evaluation and they practice design decision making that balances design ideas against user needs. Activities include a focus on...

The ‘discovery’ section of the Fixpert's resource focuses on developing skills and confidence relating to design thinking. It works well as a starter for an in-depth design lesson. Structured activities help students to view their surroundings with fresh eyes and think outside the box. Ideation techniques are...

The ‘getting started’ section of the Fixpert's resource focuses finding a 'fix partner' and identifying a design problem they experience. Structured activities are provided for developing interview skills, along with an activity considering the needs of someone with limited dexterity or mobility.

From Practical Action, this resource encourages students to look at how design specifications are balanced when developing new products.

This challenge provides a STEM activity day in which teams of children work together to design a way of getting lighthouse keepers back to the mainland from a lighthouse...

Produced by Practical Action, these materials help students to consider the impacts of a product through its whole life cycle. A presentation describes the concept of lifecycle analysis (LCA) and gives some examples. Students are then challenged to consider the life cycle of familiar products, from raw materials,...

Produced by Practical Action, this short activity introduces the various factors that influence the choice of consumers. Students consider different products and the reasons behind why they would or would not purchase them. The activity is a perfect introduction to sustainability and aims to help students think...

The ‘production’ section of the Fixpert's resource focuses on producing a  high-quality working prototype that meets the problem described in the original design brief. Activities that support this section include: ‘hack a toothbrush’, starting points for innovative ideas, and making paper bowls. These activities...

This activity booklet uses the real life context of air traffic control using radar signals to identify the position of an aeroplane that students act out. It provides them with an opportunity to use their knowledge of waves and speed = distance / time to calibrate and calculate the distance a plane is from the...

The ‘presentation’ section of the Fixpert's resource focuses on documenting the Fixpert's project in the form of a film, presentation, folder, blog or any other medium students choose. It encourages students to be reflective and critical of their practice, along with developing presentation and story-telling skills...