Play, Be, C: Civil Engineer
Resources and activities themed around a STEM job, to build language and understanding around the world of work.
Overview
Civil engineers plan, design, build and manage the construction and upkeep of buildings and other structures such as roads, bridges, dams, water and sewerage systems, railways, airports and harbours.
Civil engineers are:
Creative when they plan and design buildings and structures,
Collaborative when they work together with other professionals to complete projects.
Resilient because their designs can be tricky to get right the first time.
Early Learning Goals links
- Mathematics ELG: Numerical Patterns
- Understanding the World ELG: Past and Present
- Understanding the World ELG: People, Culture and Communities
- Understanding the World ELG: The Natural World
- Expressive Arts and Design ELG: Creating with Materials
Characteristics of effective learning
Our EYFS units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
• playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
Taken from Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
© Crown copyright 2023 licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The Book
Our suggested book for this Unit is Elephant Island by Leo Timmers.
You can find out more about the book at the publisher’s page, and the Google Books page will link you to retailers and local libraries.
Activities
These adult led activities and provocations will support the introduction of the civil engineer career to the children in your setting.
Balancing provocation
Challenge the children to complete different balancing challenges and develop their balancing skills.
Meeting specifications provocation
Challenge children to design and build a model to meet specifications.
Balancing and fastening adult led activity
Investigate how to balance and fasten structures to stop them from falling down.
Island improvement collaboration adult led activity
Encourage collaboration in order to improve a project and complete a challenge.
Plan to creation adult led activity
Support children to effectively convert a plan into a finished product.
Create your own Elephant Island provocation
Challenge children to design and build their own Elephant Islands.
STEM at home activities
This is a link to a related STEM at home activity. This could be sent out for families to try at home, or run in school at a family session.
Resources
You can download our civil engineer poster to use in your setting.
Civil engineers plan, design, build and manage construction infrastructure projects at all stages from planning through to maintenance and demolition. They may work on a construction site, outdoors in all weathers or in an office.
Before a project begins, a civil engineer needs to consult and plan with clients, analyse data using computer modelling software and create blue prints plans using computer models and drawings aided design (CAD). Civil engineers also estimate project costs, time and labour and prepare risk and environmental impact assessments. Civil engineers also need to consider the sustainability of each project at all stages and challenge themselves and others to make the best of our resources.
During a project a civil engineer will monitor progress at each stage, report to their clients and relevant government agencies and make sure designs and sites follow health and safety rules.
Civil engineers need to be creative with their design skills and knowledge of engineering science and technology as well as their knowledge of building and construction.
As well as collaborating with clients, civil engineers collaborate with construction companies, local authorities, rail and utility companies and other clients. They also work in multi discipline teams.
Civil engineers need to be resilient to meet the needs of their clients, providing a cost-effective solution is not enough for a project to succeed. Resilience is required to ensure that designs are safe, comply with rules and regulations and to consider the environmental impacts of their designs. Also it is rare that any projects goes without a hitch; client changes, adverse weather, material supply to name a few things that regularly cause the need to react.
NUSTEM would like to thank Paula McMahon (pictured) for her support in the development of this resource.
