Activities

Explore UT is open to the general public with online programming that is accessible to all. Activities specifically designed for K-12 students include an indication of a suggested grade level, denoting the difficulty of the concept or activity presented. Some programs will require participants to join virtual platforms (Zoom, Brazen, etc.). Children who are participating in these programs must be monitored by an adult chaperone (parent, guardian or a teacher) in order to join the virtual platform. Some may require verification that a chaperone will be present in order to register for participation.
 
Anytime

Design a Lava Lamp

Design Your Own Lava Lamp. Create a lava lamp using oil and water. To create the lava lamp, you will learn how a chemical reaction generates the lava lamp effect.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Fun with Optics

Join the Biomedical Optics Graduate Organization (BOGO) to see fun and understandable experiments illustrating different properties of light. Examples of demonstrations will show how certain objects absorb light, how some materials glow when exposed to light, how light can be bent, and more!

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Programming Maze Game

Computational engineers often have to solve big problems as fast as possible, but some programs can take hours or even days to find a result. This means that engineers need to think carefully about the code they are writing.  Learn to code by guiding your character through the levels of this online programming game.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Civil Engineering 101

Join us to learn more about Civil Engineering, what we do in ASCE, and how to build a bridge out of popsicle sticks!

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Clean Energy for a Cleaner Tomorrow

Sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies are needed to tackle the emerging challenges caused by using fossil fuels and by global climate change. Join Professor Arumugam Manthiram to discusses battery and fuel cell technologies from a chemical and materials science perspective. The presentation will include demonstrations of the construction and performance of a metal-air fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Designing Super Paper Planes

Learn the basic science of air travel and test your engineering skills by creating a super paper plane.  The guide will provide design tips that may help your plane fly farther.  Once you've tested it in flight, you may want to choose to change the design to make it better.  The sky is the limit. 

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Design a Puffmobile

The Challenge: Create a racecar entirely powered by your breath. Setup a racetrack and race with your family and friends. The winner is the Puffmobile that gets across or reaches the finish line first. Huff and Puff and blow to get your racecar to move. Good luck and have fun!

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Build a Lung Model

Building a model of the human lungs and diaphragm using balloons to understand how they work. Our lungs are vital to our body's respiratory system and our ability to acquire oxygen. The bottom balloon works like your diaphragm, which is a strong muscle that expands and contracts, causing the lungs to fill with air and then emptying it.

Cockrell School of Engineering Science
Anytime

Edison Lecture Series: Failing Well

Discover how failing at something can also lead to incredible success.  Middle and high school students can see the fun side of electrical and computer engineering through a series of four mini-lectures on this year's topic, "Failing Well." Next you can watch these concepts come to life through fun demos on our "Edison Lecturebank" available on Padlet (https://padlet.com/tc78/aa5lho2qkazid1s6).

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Mapping Organ Systems

Learn about the human body in this fun lesson on organ systems!

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Party Pipeline Adventure

Create a party pipeline that delivers a party snack (marble, marshmallow, ball, cheerio, anything, etc.) to the party people (or animals) who are at least 6 feet away. Use paper, toilet paper rolls, tubing, boxes or anything else to create your pipeline. The pipeline must not have more than a 10-inch change in elevation and must incorporate at least 3 changes in direction.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Light and Crystal: Floating Zone Single Crystal Growth of Materials

Material scientists have a lot of techniques in synthesizing novel materials, and floating zone single crystal growth is one of the most versatile and effective method of single crystal growth. In this demonstration, we will show you what is it like to grow single crystals in using the floating zone method.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

DNA Extraction Extravaganza

Ever wondered why you look similar to your parents, siblings, cousins, or grandparents? Ever wondered what makes you unique? Ever wondered what makes something living? The answer to all of those questions is deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. Learn what makes you unique by extracting DNA from fruits.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
Anytime

Thirst for Power: A Virtual Field Trip

Water and energy are the two fundamental components of a society, and they are interconnected. View the film, Thirst for Power, shot on location across France, California, and Texas, to explore our dependence on water for energy as well as vulnerabilities in our current systems.

This on demand film screening with a digital study guide, Q&A session, and virtual field trip are vailable March 6 through May 31.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering
March 6, 2021, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Design a Gumdrop Dome or Marshmallow Tower

Design and create a dome or tower (or any shape) using only toothpicks and gumdrops or marshmallows! How tall can you make your tower? How strong of a structure can you make? If you shake the table like an earthquake, does it stay standing? If you put a book on top of it, will it withstand the weight? If you press on it from the side, does it hold up or does it topple over? Stop by to build with members of Chi Epsilon and talk about engineering! To older students, drop by to chat about UT, honors organizations, and anything else you want to know about civil engineering, etc.

Cockrell School of Engineering Engineering