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Primer for Pedestrian Safety STEM 

Activities

The streets and transportation network are 

intended for members of the community of 

all ages, abilities, and social backgrounds. 

Everyone should be able to make it to their 

destination safely as they go about their daily 

lives. There are many practical ways to improve 

streets and transportation to keep people safe 

and comfortable whether on foot, bike, using 

a mobility device, or in a motorized vehicle. 

Whether pedestrian safety is already an integral 

part of your work or the topic is somewhat new to 

you, conducting these activities is a great chance 

to introduce transportation design and road 

safety to young people. It is also a chance to let 

them know why this work is important and what 

roles they can play in the future. Thank you for 

teaching the next generation.

Intended Use: This set of five lessons is generally 

relevant for students in grades K through 8. The 

lessons can be taught during the school day 

or as part of an extracurricular activity. The 

time needed for the lessons ranges from 20 

minutes to two hours. The lessons are intended 

to be taught by someone with experience in 

the transportation field or a related field. Key 

concepts are described in an accessible manner 

so that anyone can use the materials. Instructors 

with a passion for learning new topics are also 

encouraged to familiarize themselves with the 

why and how of these concepts.

The Why and How Behind the Concepts

▸ Improving the ability of all road users to see

each other: It’s key for the people who are not

in vehicles to see and be seen so that they do

not put themselves in jeopardy around moving

vehicles. Being able to see properly, gives

drivers enough time to stop.

▸ Shortening the distance for people to cross the

street: Shorter distances take less time to traverse

so people experience less risk. Children, older

adults, and people with disabilities may take

more time when crossing so this is especially

important for them.

▸ Making crossing the street safer for people with

a range of abilities: Street crossings for people

walking are improved by adding features like

pedestrian refuge islands, curb extensions,

narrower lanes, lighting, audible signals, clearer

pavement markings, and more.

▸ Reducing driver speed: Higher speed traffic

results in more severe injuries. People outside

vehicles are disproportionately injured over

those protected inside the vehicle. At higher

speeds, drivers require more time (and

distance) to slow down and react to what’s in

front of them. Adding street designs that lead to

even a small speed reduction can result in less

severe crashes.

▸ Using design to increase the chance that a

driver acts safely around other road users:

Features that change the road landscape like

pedestrian refuge islands, curb extensions,

and rectangular rapid-flashing beacons can

improve the visibility of a crossing to drivers.

Width of travel lanes, number of lanes, traffic

signal timing, and roadside design can all send

subconscious cues to drivers about appropriate

travel speed around other road users.

▸ Creating space for people to walk, bicycle,

take the bus, or park their car safely: The design

of streets and public space should generally

be such that it limits

the maximum speed

at which drivers can

operate comfortably

while also ensuring

that there is plenty of

space assigned for the

mobility safety needs

of other road users.

Trails/paths/greenways

can also be used

to create separate

space, and often

more direct routes, for

people walking and

bicycling.

FHWA-SA-20-086

STEM Lessons for Pedestrian Safety: Primer
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Doing Hands-on STEM Activities with Kids

Planning for the Activity

• Try out all elements beforehand and make

samples of anything children need to create.

• Label, sort, and measure out materials and

supplies so they can be set up quickly.

• Prepare a brief script or set of prompts printed

out in large font with pages numbered.

Working with Schools and Teachers

• Assure them that you will be taking care of

upfront planning and supply preparation.

• Ask whether the teacher will be remaining with

the students during your lesson.

Introducing the Activity

• Introduce yourself with a friendly story.

• Plan and practice your favorite ageappropriate icebreaker for when you first

meet the students.

• Let children know at the start what to expect

over the course of the session.

• Be positive about the activity and how they

will perform.

Working with Children

• Encourage manipulation of materials and

whole-body movement to enhance learning.

• Avoid assumptions about children’s

background, family situation, and where they

live (i.e., not every student has a house, car,

mom/dad, etc.).

• Be mindful of the fact that students may

have been involved in a traffic crash or have

someone important in their life who has

experienced traffic violence.

• Have an extra related activity on-hand for a

child who may be unable to participate.

Conducting the Activity

• Repeat and explain what you are doing as

you go.

• Include fun stories and friendly explainers.

• Be prepared to add or shorten time assigned

to steps based on engagement levels.

• Assign roles or tasks to children who may be

left out or less engaged.

Watch Your Language

• Use every day English terms. Avoid jargon and

overly technical details.

• When you do need to include unfamiliar

terms, explain in a straightforward way.

Framing the Activity

• Explain technical ideas through people’s

everyday lives and helping them get places.

• Add characters and names to explanations

about getting from A to B.

• Use the opportunity to bust stereotypes about

mobility and safety.

Encouraging Future Careers & Roles

• Explain the fun parts of these jobs and how

the work helps people in real life.

• Tell children directly that they too could aspire

to play roles in this field in the future.

• Let them know we need people like them

as our future engineers, planners, computer

scientists, data analysts, researchers,

equipment manufacturers, and street

contractors.

STEM Lessons for Pedestrian Safety: Primer
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Street Elements – Glossary of Terms

These terms are used throughout the lessons to 

describe different parts of a street. You and your 

students will need to use these terms as you 

explore the design of streets and how they can 

be made safer and more comfortable for people 

walking along and across the street. Please refer to 

the descriptions below to ensure that you and your 

students are working from a common definition. 

The following page shows a street scene labeled 

with most of these terms.

Bike lane

a portion of the street with stripes and symbols 

indicating separate space for bicyclists to travel. A 

bike lane can be placed against the curb of the 

sidewalk or against a vehicle parking lane.

Crosswalk

indicates the preferred location for people to 

walk across the street. Crosswalks also warn 

drivers to look for people crossing. Crosswalks 

can be installed at intersections and across the 

middle of a street between intersections (i.e., 

midblock). Crosswalks can be marked a few 

different ways from curb ramp to curb ramp—

they can be two parallel line or have a style that 

looks like piano keys or a ladder. Not all legal 

crosswalks are marked with paint, but for the 

purposes of these STEM lessons, we will always be 

talking about marked crosswalks.

Curb extension

[not shown on pg. 4] extends the sidewalk or 

curb line out into the parking lane to reduce the 

street width and shorten the crossing distance 

for pedestrians. Curb extensions can be used at 

intersections or at a crosswalk in the middle of the 

street. They should not block bike lanes. 

Curb ramp

provides easy and safe access between the 

sidewalk and the street for all people, especially 

people who are using wheelchairs, strollers, 

crutches, or have a difficult time stepping up 

or down. Curb ramps include a bumpy area 

(often yellow) that alerts people who have vision 

impairments to the sidewalk and street edge. 

Median

the area that separates opposing vehicle travel 

lanes. These can be marked using paint or be 

raised with curbs and landscaping [as shown]. 

Not all streets have medians. 

Pedestrian refuge island

can be used on its own, or as part of a median, 

to protect pedestrians while crossing streets with 

multiple vehicle travel lanes. These spaces allow 

people to cross part of the street and safely wait 

for an opportunity to cross the rest of the street. 

They can be used at intersections or at crosswalks 

in the middle of the road.

Sidewalk

space for people to travel that is separate from 

cars. Sidewalks also provide places for children to 

walk, run, skate, ride bikes, and play. 

Vehicle parking lane

space in the street for drivers to store their cars 

when then have arrived at their destination. The 

vehicle parking lane is sometimes referred to as 

on-street parking. Not all streets have, or need, 

vehicle parking lanes.

Vehicle travel lane

a portion of the street that is marked for a single 

line of vehicles to travel (i.e., cars, buses, trucks). 

They can also be used by bicyclists. Travel lanes 

are separated by yellow or white paint that runs 

in dashes or solid lines depending on whether 

vehicles are allowed to change lanes. Streets 

range from one, one-way travel lane to multiple 

lanes traveling in each direction. Generally, more 

travel lanes and wider travel lanes are less safe for 

pedestrians.

STEM Lessons for Pedestrian Safety: Primer
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STREET ELEMENTS

STEM Lessons for Pedestrian Safety: Primer