STEM

E D U C AT I O N
Elementary-Level Engineering
ACTIVITY PACKET
 Welcome friends!
Come visit us at Northrop Grumman
and see what we are all about!
Welcome friends, today is your day.
There are a lot of fun and games coming your way.

Here at Northrop Grumman there are really cool things to do.

We are happy to have you, on this field trip away from school.

From airplanes to radars, here we do it all.

Various gizmos and gadgets, reach for the stars.

Science and Technology; Engineering and Math

Radars and Rockets; Airplanes, what a blast!

So let’s get started, we are ready... how about you?

Let’s turn to page 1, a scavenger hunt awaits you!

2 Engineering Activity Packet

Meet the Tour Guides

Shosanna - Science
Shosanna is a recent graduate of University of Maryland and has
been at Northrop Grumman for 6 months. She went to school to
study Material Science and Chemistry and now she works as a
microelectronics engineer. In 2nd grade, she loved making her own
volcanoes and slime. In high school, she was the President of the
Science Club! In middle school, Shosanna would experiment with
food by creating her own recipes altering the ingredients to make
new creative dishes to share with her family.

Thomas - Technology
Thomas is a Cyber Engineer who works on some of Northrop
Grumman’s most complex problems. While at work, Thomas helps
us communicate with satellites and protects our computers, and
at home he also enjoys building robots and tutoring high school
physics students. Thomas earned his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Cambridge and his Master’s
degree in Cybersecurity from California Polytechnic State University.
In high school, Thomas enjoyed solving math and logic puzzles, but
he never knew that he could do that as a career!

Elena - Engineering
Elena is an Aerospace Engineer and has been at Northrop Grumman
for ten years. She helps ensure our planes are safe and pass all the
test flights. She was born in Spain and went to the Technical University
of Madrid and studied both Aeronautical Engineering and Computer
Science. After college, Elena immigrated to the United States to work
for a tech start-up. After a few years, she joined Northrop Grumman.

Mohamet - Math
Mohamet is an alumni from North Carolina A & T State University and
has been at Northrop Grumman for 2 years. He went to school to
be a Mathematician and a Mechanical Engineer and now works in
design and structural analysis for airplanes – so cool! He loves that
he can use his math skills in his job every day! In 3rd grade, he made
his first invention by sewing velcro on each sock so they would stick
together during the wash & dry cycle. In high school, he enjoyed
working on cars to make them faster!

Engineering Activity Packet 3

Activity Packet Target Groups

Teachers/Parents: This packet is designed for children ages 5-11. You will notice that
each page has an aircraft in the upper right corner identifying the grade level. Some
children will be able to complete higher-level activities, while some children will need
assistance. Please use this time to engage with your children while they explore the
fun and interesting things we do at Northrop Grumman!

GLOBALHAWK
K/1st grades
The Global Hawk is an autonomous unmanned aircraft. That means the pilot is located in
a building in front of a screen watching the Global Hawk fly itself. How cool is that? The
Global Hawk set a U.S. Air Force record for longest unrefueled flight in 2014. It flew for over
34 hours! That’s almost a day and a half.

F-5 Freedom Fighter

2nd/3rd grades
This airplane first flew in 1959 and has served with
many air forces around the world. Early F-5s were
called Freedom Fighters. Later F-5s were called Tiger
IIs. Tiger IIs were a little bigger and faster than the
Freedom Fighters. Many F-5s are still flying today.
They have been around for almost 60 years! Isn’t that
amazing?

B-2 Spirit
4th/5th grades
The B-2 Spirit is a stealth aircraft. While not invisible,
it is very difficult to spot and track on radar. The B-2
can also fly a long way. With one in-flight refueling,
it can go over 10,000 miles. With more, it can go a
lot farther. It can fly to the other side of the world
and back without landing! How tired would you
be after a 40-hour car ride without stops? Are we
there, yet?
Science - Shosanna takes us to the Advanced Interconnects and
Multilayer Solutions (AIMS) manufacturing cell where Northrop Grumman
engineers build printed circuit boards (PCBs).

PCBs mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components to one

another and are the basis of most electronic products built at Northrop Grumman.
PCB designers use computer aided software tools to create PCB artwork patterns (as
displayed below) that show the placing of the electrical traces and via holes that connect
every component which will be mounted on the board.

Component: A smaller, self-contained Activity: Draw your own

part of a larger entity. printed circuit board
Electrical Traces: Electrically
connect the various connectors and
components to each other.

Mounted: To place or fix an object in its

operating position

Did you know?

 CBs are located in your computer, TV, digital
P
clock and microwave! If you have heard of
a “motherboard” in your computer, then you
Where will you place your are talking about a PCB!
printed circuit board?
 rinted circuit boards have made connecting
P
_____________ components easier and cheaper.

Engineering Activity Packet 5

 eight electrons in their valence shell. A si
electrons. In the silicon lattice, each (at
Science - atoms to achieve a full octet. A phosphor
Shosanna takes us to the Advanced Technology
shell, one more than silicon. When we ad
Laboratory (ATL) where Northrop Grumman engineers build
one extra electron that is free to move ar
semi-conductors.
electricity) __________
impurity atoms in a semiconductor is dire
Activity: Decode the following statement to learn how
semiconductors work!
A semiconductor is a material that has an electrical conductivity Code:
between a conductor _____________________ and A=a B=b C=c D=d
insulator __________________ (or non-conductor). E=e F=f G=g H=h
An example of a conductor is () . An example I=i J=j K=k L=l
of an insulator or non-conductor is () . The M=m N=n O=o P=p
purpose of a semiconductor is to connect insulating materials and
Q=q R=r S=s T=t
conductors. Semiconductors have made technologies available
U=u V=v W=w X=x
to many people. Did you know that everyday items around your
house have tiny semiconductors inside? Y=y Z=z

Activity: Circle the items in your home that have semi-conductors.

Conductors vs. Insulators

In conductors, electricity flows freely. Most metals are good conductors. In insulators, electricity
does not flow freely. Most non-metal solids are insulators. Conductors are used to conduct
electricity in electronic parts like computers and cell phones. Insulators are used in electronic
devices and protective equipment to block electrical conduction.

Activity: Which of these items are conductors and which are insulators?

Silver Spoon Gold Bracelet Rubber Glove Mercury in a Thermometer

Air Aluminum Foil Wool Sweater

Pennies (95% Copper)

Iron Armor Cooking Oil

Ceramic Mug Paper

6 Engineering Activity Packet

Science - Now we visit the Environmental Test Lab (ETL) is where
our products undergo testing to make sure they can handle various
weather conditions, stresses and vibrations.

All materials will react differently based on how they are made. Can you name an item
that goes through similar testing? (hint: it has 4 wheels!) We need to know our systems
can work in snow and the desert. The same for cars – imagine if a car only worked in
warm weather! The foundation of vibration testing is waves. Waves transport energy
through a medium from one location to another without transporting matter.

Activity: Using the words from the page, identify the types of waves
for each picture.

Earthquake waves Microwaves Water & Ocean waves

X-rays Ultraviolet (UV) waves Infrared (IR) waves
Light waves Sound waves Radio waves

Bats use echolocation, which When we swim

is the production of sound we are enjoying: When you turn on a light
used for communication: you are using these:
_____&_____
__________ __________
_____

A microwave uses these to You can not see these, but you To see our bones,
heat up our food: can feel their heat: doctors use:
__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (IR) ______
_____

We wear sunscreen to To listen to the radio

These waves cause the
avoid the sun’s: these are used:
ground to shake:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (UV) __________ __________
_____ _____

Engineering Activity Packet 7

Technology: Satellites
Thomas takes us on a tour of the satellite range.

MAZE CRAZE
Making a satellite is tricky business! Once it launches into space, a satellite gathers
information and communicates this data back to earth. Satellites are exposed to the
harsh environment of outer space and cannot be accessed by humans after they launch,
Help light get from the galaxy
so we are very careful to make sure our design is perfect before it travels thousands of
miles away from earth!
to the Webb telescope
Northrop Grumman’s James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope that will be looking
for the cosmic dawn which is the first moments of light following the Big Bang.
Engineers and scientists like Thomas worked with NASA to develop the
technology needed to learn about the formation of stars and galaxies.

Start
Here
Activity: Help light get from the galaxy
to the James Webb Space Telescope

Satellite: an artificial body placed

in orbit around the earth or moon
or another planet in order to
collect information or for
communication
Big Bang: A scientific
theory about how the
universe started, and then
made the stars and galaxies
we see today.

Did youtelescope
The Webb know?will be a million miles from Earth, which
means that it will be much farther away from us than the
YMoon!
ou use satellites
Webb every
needs day!
to Whether Low
stay cool so it can see battery!
faint, far Once
awayin orbit, satellites use solar
you are using Global Positioning System panels to convert solar energy into electricity.
galaxies.
or checking The
the place where
weather, Webb
your data waswill be will let
This the telescope
electricity then powers the satellite.
probably transmitted by a satellite at some
use its large sunshield to block out infrared light from the Sun,
point on its journey to you.
Earth, and Moon.
8 Engineering Activity Packet
43
Technology: Cyber
Thomas takes us to Northrop Grumman’s Software Center of Excellence,
where engineers work to protect satellite communications using cyber security.

Implementing cyber security in our technology is like installing an alarm system in your
house – it protects the information inside and deters attackers outside. Thomas tells us
that Northrop Grumman engineers work to anticipate ways in which data transmissions
could be interrupted and develop software code that will keep the interruption from
being successful. Cyber security also protects against attempts to steal information or
damage technology so that it no longer works properly. The work cyber engineers do is
a lot like making a vaccine for your computer so that it does not get a virus!

Activity: Using information found on this page, unscramble the words!

sa ss m
t nt ti m
n ai nr s i r s o

s v u r i

Did you know?

c e d o
 ometimes the best way to test
S
something is to try to break it!
As new systems are developed,
skilled computer programmers
attempt to breach cyber
security roadblocks. If they are
successful, engineers know
l s a e t e i t l that these areas need more
protection.

 ew cyber threats are emerging

N
every day, creating lots of work
for innovative puzzle solvers!

a i r o d a e v w s

Engineering Activity Packet 9

Technology: Undersea

Thomas takes us on a journey from outer

space to undersea. While radio waves
work well for communication above
ground, sound waves work best for
communication under water. Just like
throwing a ball at a wall and watching
it bounce back, technology that uses
sonar transmits sound waves and detects
the echo when the waves bounce off of
objects.

A few applications of SONAR (SOund

Navigation And Ranging) are unmanned
maritime systems, submarine sensors, and
undersea exploration. Northrop Grumman
has even used its sonar technology to learn
about the behavioral patterns of oysters in
the Chesapeake Bay!

Oysters are important natural filter feeders,

which means that they can filter more than
50 gallons of water in a single day and
help keep the Chesapeake Bay clean!

What would you look for

using sonar?
_____________________________
Activity: Using sonar is a lot
like the game of I Spy.
Can you find all of the
undersea objects?

q Starfish
Did you know?
q Submarine  onar is used by fishing ships to
S
q Green corals detect schools of fish, as well
as dangerous reefs and rock
q Telescope formations.
q School of blue fish
q Propeller  ome animals also use sonar as a
S
form of navigation, including bats
and dolphins.

10 Engineering Activity Packet

Engineering: Systems -
Elena is a systems engineer specializing in radar.

WHAT IS RADAR?
Radar is a system that uses strong radio waves to detect
The MESA radar provides air-to-air coverage, objects, determine distances or make maps of objects.
air-to-surface coverage.
We use radars every day! The weatherperson on TV and
police officers both use Doppler radar. Some newer cars
have radar to detect the distance in front of the vehicle
and warn the driver if they are too close.

Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR)

Activity: Word Search

Q N N Q T C E T E D J W RADAR
T L A N G I S E U C B M NORTHROP
I Y B O U W R E D R M L DISTANCE
O X C T A R G E T I Z B POWER
H T G N E L E V A W E N ANTENNA
SIGNAL
L I P N E A N N E T N A
GRUMMAN
T E F Y N U N E C I G M
DETECT
P M L U U U Q P K C I M
TARGET
D I S T A N C E O Q N U WAVELENGTH
Y S J C M H I T R W E R FREQUENCY
R A D A R D L Y S F E G ENGINEER
Y N O R T H R O P M R R

Did you know?

T he Australian version of the airplane, called  ADAR stands for Radio Detection
R
Wedgetail, is named after Australia’s largest And Ranging.
bird of prey: the Wedge-tailed eagle.

Engineering Activity Packet 11

Engineering: Aircraft
Elena takes us to the aircraft hangar where we can see a
variety of military and commercial airplanes!

The selection of planes below can fly high…can fly low…can fly fast and fly slow. Some can
“hover” and others can fly straight up in the air, defying gravity! All of these planes serve a
specific purpose, such as the fighter jet, surveillance plane, people transportation, supplies
transportation and even an experimental test plane that tests brand new radars and various
sensors. They were designed and built by many different types of engineers, such as Aerospace
Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Materials Engineers and more! With the
help of very skilled aircraft pilots, these engineering teams can design, build and fly almost
anything they can dream up!

Activity: Look-n-Find

E-2C Hawkeye B-2 Spirit

Global Hawk B-1 Lancer
Wedgetail CRJ Test Plane
AWACS X-47

Did you know?

X-47B: The X-47B was a flying wing test aircraft built by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Navy. It was
the first autonomous unmanned airplane to launch from an aircraft carrier by catapult, and the
first autonomous unmanned air vehicle to land on a carrier. That means it did it all by itself, without
a pilot or a controller on the ground flying it. It was also the first unmanned aircraft to make an
autonomous mid-air refueling. That’s pretty amazing!

12 Engineering Activity Packet

Engineering

Build your own airplane using the pattern on the next page.
Fold the paper in order, starting with #1 and ending with #4.
Then see how far it will fly!

Engineering Activity Packet 13

2 2

3 3

4 4

1
Engineering: Software
Letter Binary

Software is part of a computer! It is the brain of radar and our airplanes. a 01100001
What type of software might you use at home? Well, if you have ever used
a tablet, laptop or computer – you have used software! Software is written b 01100010
in code and tells these systems what to do – like which chores to perform, c 01100011
or which lines to read in a play!
d 01100100
Binary code represents text, computer processor instructions, or any other e 01100101
data using a two-symbol system. The two-symbol system used is often “0”
f 01100110
and “1” from the binary number system. The binary code assigns a pattern
of binary digits, also known as bits, to each character or instruction. In the g 01100111
table on the right, you can see the 0’s and 1’s that represent letters. h 01101000
i 01101001
Activity: What is missing?
j 01101010
Fill in the missing letters. Use the words from this page to complete k 01101011
the crossword puzzle.
l 01101100
m 01101101
n 01101110
o 01101111
p 01110000

__ O __ __ U __ __ R C__ __ E q 01110001
r 01110010
s 01110011
t 01110100
B__ __ __ __ u 01110101
v 01110110
w 01110111

A__ __ P __ __ N __ x 01111000
R__ __ __ R
y 01111001
z 01111010
Activity: Write Your
Did you know? Name in Binary!
 orthrop Grumman
N Using the binary decoder on the right of the page,
software can contain use the space below to write your name in Binary! This
millions of lines of code. is how Elena would write her name: 01100101 01101100
That’s one big brain! 01100101 01101110 01100001

T he modern binary number

system was invented in 1689
by Gottfried Leibniz!

Engineering Activity Packet 15

MATH- Mohamet takes us to the Modeling & Simulation Center
where Northrop Grumman engineers use applied mathematics to simulate
our systems capabilities.

Math is used in each area of STEM that you were introduced to today. Each uses a similar
problem-solving approach and tools such as observation, comparison, measurement,
and communication.

Mathematics is important to many different types of jobs at Northrop Grumman,

including those related to engineering, manufacturing, finance and more. Each job uses
math in a different way.

Math is also important in our daily lives. We

Decoder Box use addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division when shopping, cooking, and other
A  L  W  activities.
B  M  X  Types of mathematics include arithmetic,
C  N  Y  algebra, geometry, calculus, number theory
D  O  Z  and applied mathematics.
E  P  With a mathematics college education,
F  Q  you could have a career in medicine,
G  R  cryptography, architecture, teaching,
robotics or accounting. Each is challenging
H  S  and fun in its own way!
I  T 
J  U 
K  V 

Activity: Decode the message to find out an interesting fact.

  

_________ _____ ________
   
_ _ ________ ____ ___

_______

16 Engineering Activity Packet

MATH- Mohamet takes us to the Mission Control Center (MCC) where
Northrop Grumman engineers use math equations to model the positions
and velocities of our spacecraft!

Northrop Grumman Rockets launch Northrop Grumman

spacecraft into orbits around the Earth or to other
destinations in the solar system. The bigger the spacecraft,
the heavier it is – which makes it harder to push up into orbit.
A bigger rocket has a bigger force to push that spacecraft
into orbit, but a bigger rocket is also heavier. How high a
spacecraft will get is based on the Acceleration that the
rocket can give it.
Rocket Force
Acceleration = -----------------------------------------------------
Spacecraft Weight (Mass)

So acceleration is larger for smaller spacecraft and is larger

for larger rocket force.

Our tour guide, Mohamet, has selected four combinations of spacecraft and rocket sizes...help
him determine how high each will go! Solve the math division problems for them to determine
how high the spacecraft will go in orbit! Sort the values from largest to smallest into the right
boxes for how high they’ll go.

2000 Moon
Accel = ------ = ______ Moon Shot
200

100 High Earth Orbit

Accel = ------ = ______
200

1000
Accel = ------- = ______ Low Earth Orbit
200
Earth

1000
Accel = ------ = ______ Stayed on Earth
20

Did you know?

Isaac Newton originally discovered the physics used in Mohamet’s calculations in 17th Century, which
Newton expressed as Force = Mass*Acceleration, which is shortened to F=m*a. For Mohatmet’s usage
in this problem, he re-wrote the equation to solve for the Acceleration = Force / Mass.

 ravity on Earth is actually an acceleration, which mathematicians refer to as g, the acceleration of

G
gravity. The value of this gravitational constant on Earth is 9.8 meters/seconds2.

J ohannes Kepler was a mathematician in the 16th century who is considered the ‘father’ of the equations
and math models that were later developed for spacecraft orbit modeling and analyses.
Engineering Activity Packet 17
MATH- Mohamet reminds us that math and geometry are everywhere!

Mathematics has evolved just like airplanes…Fun fact: A “plane” in mathematics is a

perfectly flat surface extending in all directions.

Did you know

the B2 can fly
for 40 hours?!

If you could fly anywhere

in the world for 40 hours,
where would you go?

__________________________

Activity: Match the airplane with its fun fact!

• 1903 Wright Flyer • First all metal transport aircraft

• 1918 J-13 Junker (F-13) • First passenger aircraft

• First successful heavier-than-air powered

• 1926 Ford Trimotor
aircraft

• 1947 F-86 Sabre

• Jumbo jet that revolutionized air transport

• 1970 Boeing 747 • First swept wing US jet fighter

18 Engineering Activity Packet

What did you learn?

Thank you, friends, for joining us today.

You were a big help; we had fun along the ways!

We made a great team; we hope you come back. There

is always so much to learn, about Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math.

From radars to cyber, from submarines to aerospace.

Dream big, work hard; you can be anything you want
to be.

Keep on learning, and doing your best in school.

Always remember, S-T-E-M is cool!

Thank you for visiting Northrop Grumman; this was such a blast.
Woohoo! We hope to see you again, real soon!

Let’s work as a team and re-discover what we learned today. Teamwork is a

major part of engineering. Solving problems with a group of people with
diverse ideas, varied skills and different ways of thinking is the most effective way.
Communication, listening and respect are a part of teamwork.

1. What material has an electrical conductivity between a conductor and

non-conductor?

2. What is the foundation of vibration testing?

3. What must gather information and communicate back to earth while being exposed
to the harsh environment of outer space?

4. What protects against attempts to steal information or damage technology?

5. What is being used to transmit sound waves and detect the echo when the waves
bounce off of objects?

6. Name the eight planes you searched for in “Look-n-Find”

7. What is used to represent text, computer processor instructions, or any other data
using a two-symbol system?

8. In mathematics, what is a perfectly flat surface extending in all directions?

Engineering Activity Packet 19

Answer Sheet

Science pg. 6
CONDUCTOR, INSULATOR, METAL, GLASS

CONDUCTORS INSULATORS

Science pg. 7
Sound waves Water & Ocean Waves Light waves
Microwaves Infrared (IR) waves X-rays
Ultraviolet (UV) waves Radio waves Earthquake waves

MAZE CRAZE
Help light get from the galaxy
Technology pg.
to the 8 telescope
Webb Technology pg. 9
s s m t i n a n s i r s o
t r a n s m i s s i o n s
Start
Here
s v u r i c e d o
v i r u s c o d e

l s a e t e i t l
s a t e l l i t e

a i r o d a e v w s
r a d i o wa v e s

The Webb telescope will be a million miles from Earth, which

means that it will be much farther away from us than the
Moon! Webb needs to stay cool so it can see faint, far away
20 Engineering Activity
galaxies. The place Packet
where Webb will be will let the telescope
use its large sunshield to block out infrared light from the Sun,
Earth, and Moon.
Technology pg. 10 Engineering pg. 11

Engineering pg. Engineering pg. 15

12

COMPUTER CODE

BRAIN

RADAR AIRPLANE

Math pg. 16

  

_________ _____ ________
E ng i n e e r s s o l v e p r o b l ems
   
_ _ __
b y a p_ __ __
p _l y
_ _i _n _g m a _t h_ a n d_

__
s c _ _ _n _c _e
i e

Engineering Activity Packet 21

Answer Sheet

Math pg. 17 Math pg. 18

2000 Moon Shot Activity: Match the airplane with it’s fun fact!
Accel = ------ = ______
200 50 1903 Wright Flyer • • First all metal transport aircraft

High Earth Orbit

100 1918 J-13 Junker • • First passenger aircraft
Accel = ------ = ______ (F-13)
200
10
• First successful heavier-than-air powered
1926 Ford Trimotor •
aircraft
1000 Low Earth Orbit
Accel = ------- = ______ 1947 F-86 Sabre •
200 5 • Jumbo jet that revolutionized air transport

1970 Boeing 747 • • First swept wing US jet fighter

1000 Stayed on Earth
Accel = ------ = ______
20 0.5

What did you know pg. 19

1. Semiconductor
2. Waves
3. Satellite
4. Cyber security
5. Sonar
6. E-2C Hawkeye, Global Hawk, Wedgetail, AWACS, B-2 Spirit, B-1 Lancer, CRJ Test Plane, X-47
7. Binary code
8. Plane

22 Engineering Activity Packet

Northrop Grumman is a world-wide company that creates awesome systems, products and
solutions to help keep us and our allies safe. We have employees across the world that come to
work every day and help make a difference for all of us today and for the future for all of our
customers, government and commercial.

Northrop Grumman isn’t just powered by the latest and greatest technologies, but also some of
the best engineers. We work really hard to be the best in five key areas:

• Cyber looks at computers and computer networks.

• Logistics is all about how to get things and people in the right place and the right time to get
a job done.
• Autonomous Systems are things that work without a human to operate it – like airplanes
that fly without a pilot.
• C4ISR stands for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance. C4ISR is all about getting the right information to the right people at the
right time to make the right decision and achieve success.
• Strike provides the resources to our military and our allies to protect.

Stay Connected
Northrop Grumman
www.northropgrumman.com
www.northropgrumman.com/STEM

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NorthropGrummanCareers/

Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/company/northrop-grumman-corporation/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/northropgrumman/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/NG_Careers

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/northropgrummanmedia

Contact Us:
http://www.northropgrumman.com/ContactUs/Pages/default.aspx

Engineering Activity Packet 23

Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited; #20-1353; Dated 08/24/20