Engineering · lesson 1 of 24 · free

What engineers do — Engineering for kids

Engineers are problem-solvers. They use science and maths to design and build things people need: a bridge to cross a river, a dam to store water for the dry months, a water filter for safe drinking water, a lift to reach the top floor. Everything around you that people designed — a bicycle, a phone, a railway track — was engineered; rivers, mountains and trees were made by nature.

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Engineer's tip

Problem first, then solution — “engineers use science and maths to make things that help people”

  1. Engineered things are designed and built by people; natural things are made by nature.
  2. Every invention meets a need: ask “what problem goes away when we have it?”.
  3. Scientists ask why things happen; engineers ask how to build something useful.

Use it for: The first engineering lesson, science lessons on inventions and a “things engineers made” hunt at home.

Worked example: 🛠️ People need to go through a mountain. Which invention helps? → a tunnel

  1. Going round a mountain is long; going over it is steep.
  2. A tunnel takes the road or railway straight through it.

Check: A bridge helps people cross a wide river — another need, another invention ✓

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✏️ Practice

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🏁 Lesson 1 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ Engineering Worksheet: What Engineers Do

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