EIRs work in collaboration with teachers to develop a custom-tailored program that meets the needs of the school community. EIR activities are curriculum-linked and demonstrate the real-world applications of classroom theory. They range from presentations to hands-on experiments, from research projects to field trips. Almost all require students to work in teams and to communicate their findings to teachers and peers through presentations. Many require that students combine what they learned in a number of units to accomplish the task.

• EIR Annette Bergeron and first grade students at École Catholique Cathédrale in Kingston revisited the timeless children's tale The Three Little Pigs as part of a Structures lesson. Working in groups, students built houses out of straw (drinking straws), wood (popsicle sticks) and brick (Lego). A fan substituted for the huffing and puffing of the big bad wolf.


• Peggy Eichinger, EIR at Elizabeth Zeigler Public School in Waterloo took a third grade class on a tour of a house under construction. Plans to build an igloo are on hold until the first snowfall.


• EIR Deborah Soanes and the sixth graders at Enniskillen Public School designed and built Rube Goldberg Machines. (See EIR in Pictures)


• Tenth grade students at Ajax High School took part in a Roller Coaster Competition organized by teachers Wayne King and Doug Edwards, and EIR Neville Lewis. Working in teams of four, students were required to build a roller coaster to specific requirements (2 hills and 1 curve) using set quantities of drinking straws, pipe insulation, duct tape, paper clips and elastic bands. A marble served as the car. Points were awarded for speed, appearance, the team's ability to work together and their overall understanding of concepts.


• Students in grades 6 and 7 at Bridlewood Elementary School in Kanata went on a mining expedition with EIR Al Hamel and teacher Jeff Gervais. The students were provided with a piece of ore (chocolate chip cookies) and asked to extract the chips with as little damage to the environment (the cookie) as possible.


• EIR Phil Sweetman and teacher Melissa Perrotta helped the 8th graders at Sacred Heart High School in Stittsville construct hydraulic mazes. (See EIR in Pictures)


• Along side their work with students, the teacher/EIR team of Kelly Matheson and Jan Jofriet of Mother Teresa Catholic School in Cambridge organized a workshop for teachers on the mechanics of solids. The two sessions provided background and theory for the structures and mechanisms strand of the Science and Technology curriculum. Participants also had the opportunity to do some hands-on work with levers, pulleys and gears.


• Following a discussion of the duties and responsibilities of a professional engineer with EIR Paul Cripwell, the grade 12 computer science students at A.Y. Jackson High School in Kanata were asked a question with no answer: "Should some form of certification be placed on some software products used by the unknowing general public to provide some level of protection against some forms of defects/failures/bugs." Students were expected to think beyond the known world and extrapolate into areas about which they knew very little.


• Sam Pirritano, Engineer at Gennum Corporation and EIR at Aldershot High School in Burlington worked with 12th grade students on a chip design project. The students designed microchips which were manufactured by the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation. The chips were then tested at Gennum's facilities. (see EIR in Pictures)