Fish Ladder, Bonneville Dam, OR

What are some good activities and lessons to incorporate engineering into biology/life science?
– K., Connecticut

There are several websites that will give you lesson plans to incorporate engineering into all topics in science. Search the NSTA Learning Center (https://learningcenter.nsta.org) for ideas and check my collection which you may find useful: https://goo.gl/6TrTHk .

The possible end products of engineering design are: theoretical plans; models; list of procedures; and, finally, prototypes or actual working designs. Here are a few possible design projects that come to mind loosely organized by engineering disciplines.

Civil Engineering:

• Migration corridors for different species. Start with a case study on how engineers help a species safely migrate across roadways, pipelines, dams and other human-made barriers.
• Irrigation systems to minimize erosion.
• Campgrounds which have a zero-carbon footprint and are ecologically friendly.
• Waste handling systems

Electrical Engineering:

• Use geographic data to place a hydroelectric dam in the most advantageous and least disruptive location for an ecosystem and watershed.

Mechanical:

• Traps to safely capture organisms.
• Reclaiming plastics from oceans
• Biomimicry: construct something using features found in nature.

Biomedical:

• Artificial limbs and organs for animals or humans. This also allows you to incorporate 3D printers for prototyping.
• Use computer probes to collect data on heart rate, oxygen, and more.

Aeronautics:

• Systems to protect jets and airports from birds.
• Collect environmental data using drones or weather balloons.

Computer:

• Use microprocessors like Arduino or Raspberry Pi and program sensors to collect physical data on habitats, aquariums, terrariums, and more.
• Create enclosed habitats or greenhouses that collect data and respond to changing conditions.

Hope this helps!

Photo credit: Don Graham via Wikimedia Commons