Combining Chemistry and Engineering Design

A common high school chemistry laboratory activity was redesigned to include the engineering design process to facilitate the incorporation of Next Generation Science Standards. The redesigned activity is a question guided activity that allows students to design, build, and test a model airbag. Students utilize both chemistry concepts and the engineering design process to make a functioning airbag model. Students make decisions on what materials to use, how to test their model, and how to redesign their model based on the analysis of their data. This activity was tested with students in an undergraduate introductory chemistry class as well as a summer STEM camp with 13–15 year olds. A survey was given to participants, 69% of students said it increased their understanding of engineering and 89% of the students recommended the activity for future classes.