EDUCATION PROGRAM
What’s an Engineer?
Grade Range: Preschool – 1st grade, Ages 3 – 6
Duration: 45 minutes – 1 hour
We will begin by reading, “Rosie Revere, Engineer.” Then we will learn about what it takes to be an engineer, while exploring different simple machines around the museum.
$5 per student.
Enduring Understanding
Engineers imagine, design, and create things that can solve a problem. Engineers use simple machines to help them create things.
Essential Question
What is an Engineer and how could I become one?
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Identify simple machines with prompting and guidance
- Observe Simple Machines in Action
- Understand the role of an Engineer in basic terms
- Create a basic complex machine in response to a simple design challenge
Curriculum Connections
EEC Learning Standards and Curriculum Guidelines (MA DOE) – Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences by the Early Childhood Advisory Council
English Language Arts
Reading & Literature
- Listen to a wide variety of age appropriate literature read aloud.
Science and Technology/Engineering
Technology and Engineering
- Explore and identify simple machines such as ramps, gears, wheels, pulleys, and levers through play experiences.
Health Education
Physical Development
- Strengthen hand grasp and flexibility
- Use a variety of tools and materials to build grasp-and-release skill.
Art
Visual Art
- Explore a variety of age-appropriate materials and media to create two and three-dimensional artwork.
Next Generation Science Standards
Kindergarten
K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
Current Exhibit
Moving Water: From Ancient Innovations to Modern Challenges
Ancient civilizations engineered water systems that sustained communities for thousands of years. This exhibition spotlights six places that innovated ways to deliver, and control water for human use. It also looks at how climate change is impacting all of those places, forcing public officials to consider new ways to keep the water flowing.