DESCRIPTION
Explore the power behind real-world machines with the Hydraulic Arm Engineering Kit. This hands-on STEM experience introduces students to hydraulic systems, mechanical engineering, and the engineering design process.
Through guided builds and open-ended challenges, students use syringes and tubing to investigate how fluids transmit force. As they design and construct a working hydraulic excavator arm, they explore core concepts such as pressure, force multiplication, fluid behavior, and mechanical advantage—seeing firsthand how small inputs can produce powerful motion.
This Accelerate-level kit includes a full-color Student Workbook and a comprehensive Teacher Guide, making it easy to facilitate meaningful learning with no prior engineering experience required. Lessons emphasize scientific vocabulary, problem-solving, and iterative design while connecting hydraulic principles to real machines students see every day.
Designed for grades 3–7, the Hydraulic Arm Engineering Kit delivers 12+ hours of hands-on learning, helping students build confidence as engineers while discovering how hydraulic systems power construction equipment, robotics, and natural systems alike.
Hands-on activities include:
- Building basic hydraulic systems with syringes and tubing
- Comparing fluids such as water, air, and oil to explore viscosity and compressibility
- Constructing a scissor-lift mechanism powered by hydraulics
- Designing and building a functional hydraulic grabber claw
- Assembling a complete hydraulic arm with boom, stick, and rotating base
- Applying the engineering design cycle to test, refine, and improve designs
Key questions students explore:
- How does Pascal’s Principle allow small forces to lift heavy loads?
- Why are liquids effective for hydraulic systems?
- How do pivots and actuators convert motion in machines?
- How do engineers iterate designs to solve real-world problems?
- How does hydraulic motion appear in nature and inspire technology?
The Hydraulic Arm Engineering Kit is part of the Science Unlocked Accelerate series—designed to help students think like engineers, experiment with confidence, and understand how powerful machines really work.
CONTENTS TAB
- Balls
- Binder clips
- Cardboard sheets
- Cup Grabber Template
- Cups
- Marker
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Skewers
- Straws
- Syringes, large
- Syringes, small
- Tape
- Tubing
- Vegetable Oil
- Wire, copper
- Zip ties
SCIENCE STANDARDS
- NGSS science standards alignment
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MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions
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MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem
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MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success
- MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved
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