If you’re looking for a plant activity so your students can apply learning in plant needs, parts/functions, adaptations, life cycles, cells, photosynthesis, and/or genetics & heredity, this STEM / STEAM challenge is a perfectly engaging way to get the job done joyfully! The Basics Students will design a plant for the fictional planet, Planetopia, that […]
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If you’re looking to apply learning in adaptations, habitats, food chains and food webs, life cycles, genetics & heredity, evolution, and/or human body systems, this STEM / STEAM challenge is a student-favorite way to get the job done joyfully! The Basics In this STEM/STEAM Challenge students will design a “create-ure” that has never been
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Ah…the boat building challenge — a total classic! I remember doing this myself in elementary school, though the grade escapes me. The thing is, I remember making my clay boat and trying to get it to hold as many pennies as possible. I do not, however, remember a whole host of worksheets throughout my school career, and that speaks to the power of using STEM challenges in your classroom. If you’re new to this world, I always say boats, bridges, and towers are a great introduction, so you’re in the right place!
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Bean Bind is a bean-sorting STEM Challenge. While it ties in perfectly with Easter, it can really be used any time of the year! Premise Working against a criteria & constraints list, students design a way to sort jelly beans from other types of beans. You can tell younger students
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Carrot Carriage is a fan favorite STEM Challenge! Your students will use an unlikely set of materials to create a sweet, new ride for the Easter Bunny! (Read on for ways around the Easter connection!) Premise Working against a criteria & constraints list, students design a vehicle made primarily of carrots for
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Maybe Rome wasn’t built in a day, but New Earth City can be! This challenge is perfect for Earth Day, but it can really be used any time of the year. Fun fact: my master’s degree is in design-based learning, which shares many similarities with the engineering design process. This city-building challenge was my gateway
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Basket Bounce is another of my hybrid STEM / PE challenges. It was definitely designed with Easter in mind, but I’ve got a couple of ideas to get around that if you don’t want to (or aren’t allowed to) link it to Easter in your classroom. Premise Working against
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This STEM challenge is a classic egg drop, making it perfect for any time in spring, including — but not limited to — Easter! I fondly remember doing this challenge when I was in kindergarten — before “STEM Challenges” were a thing! I also recall the best design (not mine) used blown-up balloons to make
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The Flower Frenzy STEM Challenge Activity is actually four challenges in one and works well for spring, Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Premise In Flower Frenzy, students create a bouquet of flowers with unique attributes within four mini challenges: Floating Flowers, Functional Flowers, Fluff & Flatten Flowers, and Firmly Fixed Flowers. (If alliteration is
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Spring is HERE! I am always happy to move on to a new season, because each new season provides inspiration for STEM challenges! I’ve got some super-engaging & fun ways to bust through that spring fever — five collaborative, super-charged critical thinking & problem-solving STEM activities: Nice Nest, Egg-hanced, Basket Bounce, Carrot Carriage, and Bean
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