Our K-5 curriculum
UNITS

Aligned to standards across grades K-5, our units provide curriculum for specialists and classroom teachers who want to create an innovation lab in their classroom.

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Our Units

Each unit includes 8-10 lessons, and are designed as part of a spiraling curriculum series where content and experience is deepened with each consecutive year. This series structure supports whole-school initiatives that build a culture of invention from Kindergarten through 5th Grade.

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Toy Invention Curriculum & Kit Series

Gravity! Lift! Buoyancy! Inertia! Young inventors will tinker and experiment to design their own toys, seeing everyday (yet mind-blowing) science concepts in action through their own hands-on builds and experimentation. Each unit contains 8-10 lessons.

Balancing Mobiles

Kindergarten

Floating Parachutes

1st Grade

Floating Boats

2nd Grade

Spinning Tops

3rd Grade

Rolling Marble Runs

4th Grade

Powered Paddle Boats

5th Grade

Everyday Engineering Curriciulum & Kit Series

How do bridges stay strong under heavy loads? How do neighborhoods meet the changing needs of the people who live there? What shapes and structural features make buildings stay strong against forces generated by weather? In these units, students will experiment with engineering solutions from around the world to explore some of the main challenges faced by urban centers – including population increase, pollution, and traffic congestion. Each unit contains 10 lessons.

Neighborhoods

K - 2nd Grades

Building Bridges

3rd - 5th Grades
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TOY INVENTION
Balancing Mobiles
Designed for grades K-1

A mystery at the art museum reveals a mobile sculpture hanging unbalanced, so students step in as engineer-artists to solve this balance challenge.
Through hands-on investigations, they explore gravity, balance, and counterbalance while discovering that both weight and placement affect equilibrium.
Students apply the engineering design process to design and build their own mobile sculptures using everyday materials, testing and refining their creations. The unit culminates with students presenting their balanced designs and reflecting on their learning as both engineers and artists.

What’s included:

  • 8 slide-based lessons (Approx. 10 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Parachutes (Lower Grades)
Designed for grades K-2

A toy inventor's parachute prototype drops too quickly and crashes on landing, so students step in as engineers to solve this safety challenge! They design and test parachutes using principles of gravity, air resistance, and balance through hands-on experimentation with canopy sizes and suspension lines. Students apply the engineering design process to optimize parachute performance with everyday materials, creating slow-falling, safe-landing solutions. The unit culminates with students presenting their final designs and reflecting on the scientific principles and problem-solving strategies that guided their innovations.

What’s included:

  • 10 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Floating Boats
Designed for grades K-3

A toy inventor's new boat designs keep sinking, so students step in as engineers and scientists to solve this buoyancy challenge.
Students explore key concepts like buoyancy, gravity, force, and balance through floating and sinking experiments, investigating how weight and shape affect whether boats stay afloat.
They apply the engineering design process to brainstorm, build, and improve their own floating boat models using everyday materials while tracking data and comparing designs.
The unit culminates with students showcasing their final boats and reflecting on their learning about floating principles and engineering problem-solving.

What’s included:

  • 9 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Spinning Tops
Designed for grades 2-3

A toy top that just won’t stay up? Third graders step in as engineers to fix it!
In this playful, hands-on unit, students start by exploring how gravity, friction, balance, and momentum impact the way tops spin through a series of experiments and investigations.
By tinkering and testing their way through the Engineering Design Process, they create balanced, long-spinning inventions that are both fun and functional.

What’s included:

  • 8 slide-based lessons (Approx. 10 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Marble Runs
Designed for grades 3-5

A toy inventor's marble run design has a problem—the marble get stuck before reaching the finish!
Students step in as toy engineers to solve this movement challenge by exploring forces, energy, motion, and speed.
They investigate how ramps, gravity, and friction affect marble movement, then collaborate to design and build their own marble run prototypes using everyday materials.
Students apply the engineering design process to test and improve their designs, experimenting with different track features to keep marbles rolling.
The unit culminates with teams presenting their marble runs and reflecting on the engineering principles that guided their solutions.

What’s included:

  • 9 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Paddle Boats
Designed for grades 4-8

A toy inventor's rubber band paddle boat fails after just seconds, so students step in as engineers to solve the propulsion challenge! Through iterative design cycles, they test materials, analyze paddle configurations, and optimize rubber band propulsion systems to achieve sustained motion of 10 seconds or more.
The unit culminates with students presenting their design solutions, documenting both successful innovations and learning from failures in true engineering fashion.

What’s included:

  • 10 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Neighborhood Design
Designed for grades K-2

An empty lot in a busy neighborhood needs development, so urban planners call on students to step in as city designers to determine what should be built there.
Students explore different neighborhood types through observation walks and analyze how spaces serve community needs and wants.
They apply the engineering design process to brainstorm, sketch, build, and test 3D models of buildings and public spaces using everyday craft materials while developing spatial awareness and urban planning skills.
The unit culminates with students pitching their own designs for new places that could make the neighborhood healthier, happier, and more fun.

What’s included:

  • 10 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!
TOY INVENTION
Balancing Mobiles
Designed for grades 3-5

Three locations in the neighborhood need new bridges, so Civil Engineers call on students to step in and design solutions that meet each community's specific needs.
Students conduct hands-on research using materials like paper, pipe cleaners, and string to examine the strengths and weaknesses of different bridge designs.
They apply their findings to collaborate with partners in designing bridge models that fulfill the unique requirements of their assigned location.
The unit combines structural engineering principles with creative problem-solving as students present their final designs to address authentic community infrastructure challenges.

What’s included:

  • 10 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time)

  • Standards alignment

  • Hands-on class material kits for up to 30 students

  • Embedded media and clear instructions

Let’s Plan Your Unit!