2

Lesson 2 of 84 · Engineering and Design

Lesson30 XP🛠️ Engineer Shop

What Is an Experiment?

🧪Lab Brief #2

Engineering and Design.

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Constraints make you more creative, not less.

🤯

Mind = Blown

🛠️ The first computer bug was a literal moth stuck inside a machine in 1947.

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Before you test: how many tries until it works?

What You'll Learn

An experiment is a test to find out if something is true. You can do experiments at home!

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Steps

Step 1Read

Look at the new words. Can you say each one?

Step 2Do

Design a boat from foil that can hold the most pennies without sinking.

Step 3Observe

Use your senses to describe what you notice.

Step 4Record

Write 1-2 sentences about what happened.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What is the first step when solving a problem?

🌍

Where you see this in real life

Your phone, your bike, your shoes — all designed with this idea.

🏆

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Build something — anything — out of stuff in your recycling bin.

👨‍👩‍👧

For the dinner table

What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🌡️Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

🖨️

Checkout complete lesson on Engineering and Design for 2nd Grade

Get the full Engineering and Design track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

View in Shop

Your Cart (0)

Your cart is empty

Browse our shop to find activities your kids will love

What Is an Experiment? — Engineering and Design | 2nd Grade Science | LittleActivity