Civil Engineering Science Projects (25 results)
Civil engineering is a field for problem solvers. From setting up water systems for drinking and irrigation to major transportation systems like highways, airports, subways, and railroads, civil engineers take on big challenges. In today's world, civil engineers also face big challenges: providing the modern infrastructure for a growing human population, and finding ways to do this that are environmentally sound, safe, and cost-effective. Experience what it is like, on a smaller scale, to tackle these problems.
|
Select a resource
Sort by
|
In this engineering challenge, you will build a ball run from paper and tape, but there's a twist! You want to make your ball run as slow as possible. How long can you make it take for the ball to get from the entrance to the exit? Follow the contest rules to try it out and enter the 2022 Fluor Engineering Challenge!
Read more
In this engineering challenge, you will use limited materials to build a paper tower as tall as possible, but there's a twist! Your tower must also support a heavy weight at the top without collapsing. The
2021 Fluor Engineering Challenge is closed, but you can still try it out for your own science project!
Teachers, lesson plan versions of this challenge are also available.
Read more
Build model bridges and then deliberately destroy them? Who'd be crazy enough to try that?
Read more
Skyscrapers are impressive structures. What does it take to design a building so tall? Engineers use strong materials and innovative design to push the limits of gravity. They use special tables to simulate earthquakes and test models of their buildings. In this project, you will build your own earthquake table and see how tall you can make a tower out of LEGO® bricks. You can even measure how hard your earthquake table shakes using the accelerometer of your smartphone and a sensor app.
Read more
Have you ever seen a geodesic dome? Geodesic domes are approximately sphere-like (or partially sphere-like) structures made up of interconnected triangles. A famous geodesic dome is Spaceship Earth at EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Florida, but geodesic domes are also commonly found as climbing domes at playgrounds. In this science project, you will get to build a geodesic dome using rolled-up newspapers and tape. How much mass do you think your dome will be able to support? Build one and find out!
Read more
Suspension bridges, with their tall towers, long spans, and gracefully curving cables, are beautiful examples of the work of civil engineers. How do the cables and towers carry the load that is on the bridge? Can a suspension bridge carry a greater load than a simple beam bridge? This science project shows you how to find out.
Read more
The idea of a colony on Mars is exciting! In this science project, you will tackle one of the challenges a Martian colony will face: what will buildings on Mars be made of? In this project, you will make bricks from Martian-like ground cover and measure how strong these bricks are.
Read more
A bridge collapse, like that of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge, can be a major disaster. Bridges that cannot hold enough weight to do their intended job can be a serious public safety issue. And if they collapse, they can also cause economic damage due to costly rebuilding and people and companies scrambling to figure out how to circumvent the months of traffic impacts.
Figure 1.
On August 1, 2007 the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapsed…
Read more
Have you ever been in an earthquake? What did it feel like? Did you jiggle back and forth? Up and down? Was there a jolt? Or a rolling motion? Come build a house Hansel and Gretel would love to eat, a special table to shake it on, and see how different soil types can amplify shaking.
Read more
Try gluing wood together with different types of glue, e.g.: regular white glue, yellow wood glue, cyanoacrylate (super glue), and Liquid Nails. Glue a short piece (5-8 cm) to the center of a longer piece (15-30 cm). After the glue has dried for the recommended time, drill a small hole through the center of the joint, big enough to pass through a piece of coat-hanger wire. Cut a length of coat hanger wire, pass it through the hole, and twist the ends together to form a loop. Place the ends…
Read more
|
Explore Our Science Videos
How to Build a Brushbot
Build a line following robot
Underwater Color Bursts – STEM Activity