Location: Rocklin
Day & Time: Wednesday 10:45-11:55
Grade: 1st-2nd
Mentor: Frizzle Frizzle
Email: inspiredbyamg@gmail.com
 
Magic School Bus: Engineering Lab
 
Magic School Bus: Engineering Lab is a hands-on engineering course that introduces students to the world of engineering through creativity, exploration, and problem-solving. Students will learn how engineers think, design, and improve ideas while developing skills in collaboration, critical thinking, and perseverance. The course is structured to help students build confidence with engineering concepts and apply those skills toward a long-term project that demonstrates growth, innovation, and mastery.
 
Outcomes:
By the end of this course, students will:
apply the engineering design process to solve simple problems
build, test, and improve models using a variety of materials and tools
explore concepts related to motion, force, stability, structures, and simple machines
practice observation, prediction, measurement, and data collection skills
develop creativity, resilience, and perseverance through iterative design
strengthen collaboration, communication, and teamwork abilities
use engineering journals to record ideas, sketches, tests, and reflections
design and refine a long-term engineering project for final presentation
explain how engineers use testing and redesign to improve solutions
 
Activities:
Students will participate in interactive engineering experiences that encourage experimentation and innovation.
 
First-semester activities will focus on introducing engineering concepts and materials through weekly design challenges, such as building towers, creating bridges, testing ramps and vehicles, designing protective structures, and solving simple real-world problems. Students will practice brainstorming, sketching, testing, and improving their ideas while learning to work collaboratively.
 
During the second semester, students will transition to a long-term engineering project in which they will design, experiment, troubleshoot, revise, and refine it over time. The course will culminate in a final presentation where students will demonstrate and explain their completed engineering projects.
 
Materials:
Students are expected to bring writing utensils and any assigned materials to each class. Most instructional material and engineering supplies will be provided by the instructor, including engineering journals for documenting designs, sketches, testing results, and reflections throughout the course. Additional materials may be requested, such as building blocks, cardboard, recycled materials, craft supplies, and paper engineering materials used during hands-on challenges and project development.
 
“What is memorized is easily forgotten, what is understood is never forgotten.”  ~Dr. Adler

All classes are full-year classes. Students enrolled in a Fall Semester class will automatically enroll for the Spring Semester in December to ensure their place in the class. Pricing is per semester.