OBJECTIVE:
Completion of any or all of the following exercises will allow students to better understand the evolution of technology and the contributions of the fields of engineering to human life.

EXERCISES:
Choose 3 - 5 related inventions from different years and explain how the earlier one(s) led to the invention of the later one(s). For example: Radios and Television.

Most inventions have some effect on the environment. Choose two inventions and explain their effect on the environment. Consider picking one invention that you think had a minor environmental effect and another that seems to have had a major environmental effect.

Look around your home, school, or community and make a list of 10 inventions that make your life easier or more enjoyable. What type(s) of engineering do you think these inventions were a result of.

Civil engineering projects (for example: bridges, tunnels, and highways) usually take several years to complete. Research one of the civil engineering projects listed in the time tunnel and find out how long it took, how many workers were needed and what jobs did they do, what tools or machines were used, and if the workers suffered any serious injuries or deaths. Then look around your community and select a recently completed civil engineering project and do the same.

Choose an invention that is more than 100 years old. How has this invention made your life easier or more enjoyable?

Choose an invention from the year 1000 or later. Do research to learn who the inventor(s) was(were) and what series of events or steps led to the invention.

Choose an invention from the year 999 or earlier and make up a story about who the inventor(s) may have been and what series of events or steps could have led to the invention.

SO WHAT:
Everyone knows that engineering exists as a viable career but many have difficulty understanding or describing what engineers actually do and their importance to human life. Completion of these exercises should increase the student's understanding of engineering and allow them to consider engineering as a career path for themselves.

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1,300,000 B.C.E. Hand Axes 380,000 B.C.E. Brushwood Shelters 250,000 B.C.E. Red Ochre Paint 12,000 B.C.E. First Pottery 6-5,000 B.C.E. Fishing with Harpoons 4,000 B.C.E. Glass 4,000 B.C.E. Simple Plow 3,500-3.001 B.C.E. Potter's Wheel 3,000-2,501 B.C.E. Cheops Pyramid 1,700 B.C.E. Horse-drawn Chariot 1,400-1,200 B.C.E. Woven Wool 1,000-800 B.C.E. Papyrus Manufacture 221-210 B.C.E. Great Wall of China 200 B.C.E. Use of Gears 193 B.C.E. Invention of Concrete 200 - 300 Wheel Barrows 200 - 300 Armored Cavalry 400 - 500 Iron Nails 800 - 850 Gunpowder 1290 Eye Glasses 1326 Cannons 1370 Steel Crossbow 1521 Manufacture of Silk 1530 Spinning Wheel 1592 Windmills 1608 Telescope 1775 Steam Engine 1793 Cotton Gin 1807 Paddle Steamer 1816 Stethoscope 1832 Friction Matches 1834 McCormick Reaper 1839 Camera 1851 Sewing Machine 1857 Elevator 1859 Steamroller 1862 Solar Energy 1875 Submarine 1876 Telephone 1877 Phonograph 1880 Electric Lights 1893 Automobile 1893 Zipper 1895 Radio Telegraph

1903 Powered Plane 1907 Radio 1914 Panama Canal Opens 1923 Television 1926 Liquid Fuel Rocket 1937 Golden Gate Bridge Opens 1937 Jet Engine 1938 Teflon 1939 Helicopter 1942 Computer (UNIX) 1943 Aqualung 1945 Microwave Oven 1947 Cell Phone 1947 Transistor 1955 Atomic Power 1955 Fiber Optics 1955 Video Tape Recording 1956 Artificial Intelligence 1957 Sputnik I & II 1959 Office Copier 1960 Aluminum Cans 1961 Electric Typewriters 1961 Communications Satellite 1966 FAX Machine 1967 Hand Held Calculator 1968 Virtual Reality 1969 Video Recorder 1969 Internet 1970 Floppy Disk 1971 Computer Microchip 1972 Compact Disc 1973 Mountain Bikes 1974 MRI (patented) 1976 Personal Computer 1978 GPS 1981 MS-DOS 1981 Columbia, the First Space Shuttle 1985 CD-ROM 1986 MIR Space Station 1992 World Wide Web 1993 Pentium Chip 1994 Channel Tunnel 2001 Battery Powered Mechanical Heart

Exploring Technology Through the Ages
A Study Guide for
The Time Tunnel

This guide was developed by Laura Meldrum as an educational project of the Society of Women Engineers - San Diego County Section