Toyineer

New Jersey STEM standards: hands-on mechanical engineering activities

New Jersey Standards Mapping

Teachers can use Toyineer projects to address selected New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science, Computer Science and Design Thinking, and Mathematics through hands-on mechanical construction.

Alignment reviewed October 2026.

Standards and evidence.

These alignments use only the ordinary Toyineer construction process. They do not depend on a separate extension activity.

I. 2026 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science: Forces and Motion

Grade 33-PS2-2
Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
Rockers, sliders, push rods and other guided components follow the same path each time the toy is operated. Learners can observe one complete cycle of a working toy and use that repeating pattern to predict where, and in which direction, the moving part will travel next.

II. 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Computer Science and Design Thinking: Engineering Design

Grades K–28.2.2.ED.1
Communicate the function of a product or device.
Each finished toy is a working device whose movement is visible. Learners can operate it and describe, in their own words, what it does and what each moving part contributes.
Grades 3–58.2.5.ED.1
Explain the functions of a system and its subsystems.
A Toyineer toy is built from separate parts that are then joined into one working system. Learners can name each part they built, explain its job, and describe how it depends on the parts connected to it.
Grades 3–58.2.5.ED.3
Follow step by step directions to assemble a product or solve a problem, using appropriate tools to accomplish the task.
This is the ordinary Toyineer build. Learners glue the printed blueprints to carton board, cut the black lines, fold the red lines along a ruler and follow the assembly illustrations step by step to join components into a working product.

III. 2023 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Mathematics: Geometry

KindergartenK.G.A.3
Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, “flat”) or three-dimensional (“solid”).
Toyineer begins with flat printed parts and transforms them into three-dimensional structures, giving educators a direct physical example of the distinction between 2-D and 3-D form.
KindergartenK.G.B.4
Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/“corners”) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).
Learners hold a flat printed part and the three-dimensional form it becomes after folding. Educators can ask them to compare the two, describing similarities and differences and counting sides, edges and corners.
Grade 11.G.A.2
Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.
Learners join separately folded components, such as box-like housings and sleeves, into larger assemblies, and then combine those assemblies into one composite mechanical object.

Official standards sources: 2026 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science, 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Computer Science and Design Thinking and 2023 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Mathematics.

Hands-on evidence for standards-aligned learning.

Teachers can use Toyineer projects to address these standards. Students also gain skill in their use of tools and appreciate the importance of accuracy in engineering.

All standards pages