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EngineeringTechnology

Reverse-Engineering Laboratory

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Grades 9-122 hoursSource: Creative Dad Company

Students safely take apart discarded electronics and appliances to map out how they were built and diagnose exactly why they stopped working. It's part scavenger hunt, part detective story, with genuine 'oh, THAT'S how that works' moments.

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Prep: 10 minActivity: 30 min1 session~$2/groupOne table for the Reverse-Engineering Laboratory evidence and prototypeBeginner-friendly

Setup

Print or handwrite the four Reverse-Engineering Laboratory challenge steps and place common paper supplies on one table. Prepare one small sample, dataset, scenario, or recycled-material model drawn directly from the project description; no device, paid tool, room decoration, or purchased kit is required.

Activity

  1. Read the Reverse-Engineering Laboratory challenge aloud, then look at a discarded, unplugged appliance from the outside and predict what's inside and why it might have stopped working.
  2. Use paper, index cards, recycled objects, or facilitator-provided sample data to carefully disassemble it, sketching or photographing the internal layout as each part comes off.
  3. Run one tabletop trial and find the actual point of failure—a cracked solder joint, a stripped gear, a corroded battery contact—and confirm whether the theory was right.
  4. Finish by present a labeled diagram of the device's internals and the diagnosed cause of failure to the group; record the evidence that supports the decision.

Done when: The group completes a defensible Reverse-Engineering Laboratory solution, records at least one test result or comparison, changes one claim or design in response, and supports its final decision with that evidence.

Materials

precision screwdriver set, safety glasses, old discarded unplugged appliances, notebook

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

Disclosure: Materials links below go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Steps

  1. Look at a discarded, unplugged appliance from the outside and predict what's inside and why it might have stopped working.
  2. Carefully disassemble it, sketching or photographing the internal layout as each part comes off.
  3. Find the actual point of failure—a cracked solder joint, a stripped gear, a corroded battery contact—and confirm whether the theory was right.
  4. Present a labeled diagram of the device's internals and the diagnosed cause of failure to the group.