Primary Schools

This resource consists of PowerPoint quizzes exploring engineering, with a short introductory film, for three different age groups. 

Do you have what it takes to get top marks in the STEPS Engineers Quiz? As Creatives has created family-friendly quizzes to explore engineering at home and challenge each other to see who the ultimate engineer is! 

This video contains an Engineering Quiz Introduction for you to play for the class. 

Download Primary Quiz - Suitable for age 8-12

Download Teacher Instructions

This bumper pack contains 15 hands on activities for you to get involved this STEPS Engineers Week. You can carry out one or as many activities you like! Print and copy the activity page of your choice.

Contents:

• APPLE MUMMY
• ARTIFICIAL LIMB
• Blasting Balloons
• Mentos and Diet Coke
• peel a raw egg
• potato arch
• String Telephone
• Tower Crane
• CD Hovercraft
• Detecting air pollution
• BLOWING OUT CANDLES
• EGG DROP CHALLENGE
• ENGINEER A PLANE
• BENDING WATER
• ENGINEERING COLOURING SHEETS X 5

Explore engineering in these five engineering themed colouring sheets.

The Engineers Ireland STEPS team have paired up with Jasmine Florentine, author & project illustrator of Hex Allen and the Clanksmiths, to share Hex Allen's Guide to Defeating Monsters! Join Hex and her friends as they use science and engineering to get out of a bunch of scrapes, and make some fantastic gadgets in this special and exciting activity. 

Jasmine has created a video demonstration especially for STEPS Engineers Week! Watch now on the Engineers Ireland YouTube Channel.

The STEPS team has selected a list of films and documentaries that will get students excited about engineering and STEM. Used as part of a lesson, movies can spark discussion and reinforce topics.

Teacher preparation before the screening:

• Select a film/documentary which is most suitable for your class. There are sneak peek movie trailers available below to help you chose the most suitable film/documentary for your students.
• Familiarise yourself with the discussion guide and post-screening worksheets/resources. These are available here, under each film/documentary.
• Print out any resources that you need.
• If you select a film/documentary that requires payment, ensure that you have access to a suitable payment method.

On the day of the screening:

• Complete a short discussion with your class about engineering.
• Watch the film/documentary of your choice.
• Complete the relevant post-screening worksheets/resources.

The STEPS team has selected a list of books about engineering and STEM. Why not complete a reading from one of these engineering themed books?

Hello! And welcome to your Engineering Challenge Passport. We are about to embark on a Round-the-world engineering adventure like no other.

On this trip you will face many challenges. For each one you will need to use your inner-engineer to look at the problem facing you and come up with a way to solve it.

The Engineers Ireland STEPS team has created the Wind Energy Challenge Pack, designed for students to explore sustainability in engineering. Primary school students take on the Pinwheel Challenge.

The pack contains an engineering discussion guide and detailed activity instructions. Available free to download, the activities can be carried out with materials found in the classroom or home.

Take the STEPS Engineers Week Primary School Quiz! Either call out the questions, or display the PowerPoint on Screen.

Use the Quiz Presentation for the Quiz, and the Answers Presentations to score the quiz!

Take the Engineering Challenge! Match the engineering descriptions with the images, and learn about different types of engineering. Colour in the matching sheet.

Take the Sustainable Engineering Challenge and match the ways engineers are helping achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The Engineers Ireland STEPS Ambassadors inspire students to explore the limitless opportunities a career in engineering can offer. Engineering is everywhere in our lives, and the diverse hobbies and interests of the STEPS Ambassadors are a perfect way to explore how engineering is important in all parts of our lives. 

• Colin Keogh
• Fionnghuala O’Reilly
• Orla Hartley
• Tom Parsons

Chuir STEPS liosta de ghníomhaíochtaí le chéile do spriocluchtanna i scoileanna agus seans ann gur mhaith leat iad a chur chun feidhme. Is féidir iad a fháil anseo. 

STEPS has created a list of engineering hands on activities that are available in Irish. Please visit the Seachtain na nInnealtóirí section of our website for more information.

Children with autism are often visual learners, and this resource was created with this in mind. It’s a bright and engaging resource, focusing on repetition of key words associated with engineering, matching games, and activities based on developing vocabulary. 

The Engineering in our Lives short animated video shows you how engineering is all around us! Watch this short video, and complete the accompanying workbook so see how engineering is our lives.

Watch the video now.

The STEPS team have created resources for children to discover the engineering behind some of Ireland’s heritage sites. Each location has a challenge pack full of several engineering themed activities based, through which children can discover Ireland’s engineering and heritage history.

Each activity pack contains:

• Full instructions
• Worksheets
• Fun hands-on activities that can be completed in small groups in 15 – 60 minutes
• Activities with curriculum links and engineering connections 
• Activities intended for primary school children aged 8 to 12

1. Glendalough
2. Rathcroghan
3. Parke’s Castle
4. Hill of Tara
5. Rock of Cashel

The STEPS Towards Engineering pack consists of a series of hands-on engineering challenges for ages 8 to 12 years. It has everything you need to get started and introduce engineering to young people. There is an introduction to engineering session, a planning session, and four quick hands-on engineering challenges here for you to do with your group.

Join the Dream Space Team for an exciting LIVE virtual event where your students will meet a real-life engineer and discover what it truly means to be one!

Through an interactive lesson, Q&A, and hands-on STEM activities, students will explore problem-solving, innovation, and creativity in a fun and engaging way. No prior experience or special materials needed, just curiosity and a sense of adventure!

Learning Outcomes:

• Engineers as Everyday Problem-Solvers: Students will discover how engineering shapes the world around us, from bridges to technology.
• Thinking Like an Engineer: Through hands-on challenges, students will develop key skills like creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.
• Building Connections to STEM: Activities will help students see how engineering, coding, and technology work together in exciting ways.
• Exploring Different Types of Engineering: By meeting a real engineer, students will see the variety of careers and opportunities in STEM.

Register Here

Access this resource: Human Life, Properties and Characteristics of Materials

Explore and investigate how people move; Understand how materials may be used in construction; Explore the effect of friction on movement through experimenting with toys and objects on various surfaces.

Click the link below for more information.

https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/engineers-week-human-life-properties-and-characteristics-of-materials.pdf

Dream, Invent, Create is publication to introduce engineering to kids in primary schools. It will help them make a connection between the everyday world and engineering — and excite them about the possibilities. You can purchase digital editions to share with students remotely, either purchasing a single licence or in batches or 10, 20 or 30. Shop now.

A Guide for Teachers: Dream, Invent, Create a Career in Engineering

Available to access now for free is A Guide for Teachers: Dream, Invent, Create a Career in Engineering

Get kids excited about a career in engineering. Fun lessons, guidance and insights about engineering learning and careers, and the support educators need to make it all work for primary school students. Although it does reference , there are lots of discussion guides and worksheets that work as a standalone resource. Download the Teacher Guide and Student Workbook now. 

The Story of Water - 46 minutes

The documentary focuses on the critical value of our most precious natural resource and explores the ongoing threats to its future. It seeks to educate and inform; with a range of contributions from engineers, scientists and consumers. It explores the development and current state of Ireland’s public water network, with a unique perspective on the ongoing national project to upgrade the country’s drinking water supply and wastewater treatment, and the role we all have to play in conservation.

Visit Uisce Éireann's website to access.
Access the YouTube playlist.

Educational Resources

Uisce Éireann has additional resources available that are relevant to the documentary and Water education available on www.water.ie/education, including The Story of Water Activity Booklet, videos, quizzes and worksheets and more. Links to An Taisce and Scoilnet resources are also available. 

Scoilnet Educational Resources

Uisce Éireann’ educational resources are available on Scoilnet, to help students learn all about water in a fun and engaging way with videos, fun activities, and support material.  Check out the resources at Scoilnet resources.

How would you build a new railway to join the residents of the town to a city?

Your task is to choose the best route through all the obstacles, thinking about how your choice will affect the company, environment and community.

Play the new online game here!

Twinkl has teamed up with Engineers Ireland to celebrate STEPS Engineers Week. Find a range of STEM activities to bring active learning to the classroom or at home this year. 

Twinkl have a great range of activities including  individual activities children can do remotely or in the classroom. 

Access resources now.

The Safe Routes to School Engineers Week activity (available in Irish and English) covers research, data, and design across the three parts of the activity. The activity is aimed at upper primary school students from 3rd to 6th class. Part 1 introduces students to research, which is often a part of engineering projects, with a focus on the design of our streets and roads. Part 2 introduces data and discussion on how far students can walk and what factors might influence this. Part 3 provides the students with a chance to identify and come up with solutions for issues on their routes to school.

​​​​​​​STEPS Engineers Week – Green-Schools (greenschoolsireland.org)

Mergon have compiled a sustainability workbook for children which explains what sustainability is, how children can be more sustainable and includes activities that they can complete. You can find the report on Mergon's website here: Mergon Sustainability Reports