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Civil Engineering

Build the World
Around You

Bridges, skyscrapers, highways, dams — civil engineers design the structures that hold civilization together. Discover the forces, materials, and math that make it all possible.

24 Modules
Ages 8+ Recommended
Course Curriculum

All 24 Modules

Module 01
What Do Civil Engineers Actually Do?

Meet the people who design roads, bridges, and buildings. See real projects and understand the big picture.

Intro
Module 02
Forces: Push, Pull & Gravity

Learn the three invisible forces every engineer must master — gravity, compression, and tension. Includes 4 interactive demos.

Forces · 11 Slides
Module 03
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Free Interactive Course — No Login Required

Teacher's Guide: Civil Engineering for Kids

Civil Engineering for Kids is a 24-module interactive course covering how engineers design bridges, skyscrapers, dams, roads, and cities. Each module includes slide-based lessons, quizzes, drawing activities, and — in later modules — Scratch programming projects that connect engineering principles to computational thinking.

What Students Practice

  • Understanding the engineering design process — define, ideate, prototype, test
  • Forces and loads acting on structures (compression, tension, shear, torsion)
  • Types of structural systems: beams, arches, trusses, suspension, cable-stayed
  • Real-world applications: bridges, dams, skyscrapers, road systems, city planning
  • Computational thinking through Scratch programming projects in advanced modules

Standards Alignment

  • NGSS ETS1-1 — Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem
  • NGSS ETS1-2 — Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process
  • NGSS ETS1-3 — Plan and carry out fair tests to identify failure points
  • CSTA CS Standards — Computational thinking and programming concepts (Scratch modules)
  • CCSS.ELA RST.6-8.3 — Follow multi-step technical procedures

Classroom Tips

  • Assign specific modules to match your current unit — bridge modules for a forces unit, dam modules for a water systems unit
  • Built-in quizzes provide natural formative checkpoints within each module
  • Drawing activities can be printed or done digitally — good for design documentation portfolios
  • Scratch projects in later modules are great hooks for computer science or STEM integration
  • Works well for independent study, flipped classroom, or project-based learning enrichment
How many modules are there and how long does each take?

The course has 24 modules. Each module typically takes 20–40 minutes depending on the student's pace and whether they complete the optional drawing activities. The full course can be spread over a semester or assigned selectively to match specific curriculum units.

What age is this appropriate for?

The course is designed for students ages 8 and up (approximately Grades 3–8). Early modules use accessible language and concepts appropriate for elementary students. Later modules introduce more technical vocabulary and Scratch programming suitable for middle school.

Do students need a Scratch account for the programming modules?

Scratch projects can be completed with or without an account. Without an account, students can create and run projects but cannot save them to the Scratch cloud. For saving, students should create a free Scratch account at scratch.mit.edu — no personal information is required.