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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I started my career teaching 5th grade in 2000. Any classroom teacher will tell you that first year is a killer. Hanging on for dear life, I decided not to pursue a master’s degree, or in fact any hobbies or social life outside of teaching; there simply wasn’t time. Fast-forward to 2008: Since I kept coming
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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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This STEM challenge is a perfect Easter or spring activity! Premise Working against a criteria & constraints list, students create a nest designed for maximum capacity. There are a variety of materials & options described in the video below to make this spring activity easier or more challenging. Materials
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It’s fun to think about symbols of luck: heads-up pennies, four-leaf clovers, and horseshoes, but making your own luck is so much more empowering! This St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge is all about probability! Premise of Probability STEM Challenge: Limitless Luck Working against a criteria & constraints list, students create a four-leaf frisbee designed to
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We’re using the legend behind the holiday for this St. Patrick’s Day activity STEM Challenge! Legend says St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland in the 5th century, though despite popular belief, no evidence suggests snakes were ever there. Celebrated on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day honors the patron saint and Irish culture globally. If
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In the last St. Patrick’s Day activity STEM challenge, Guard the Gold, the students helped a leprechaun protect his gold from treasure hunters. In this St. Patrick’s Day activity, Get the Gold, the students are now the treasure hunters! This St. Patrick’s Day activity STEM challenge is tons of fun, and you’ll love the cooperative
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This St. Patrick’s Day activity is a leprechaun trap STEM challenge classic almost as old as time, so I’ve added a twist and a few extensions to keep it fresh! Premise of Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge Working against a criteria & constraints list, and armed with a Leprechaun Lore List, students create a design to
Leprechaun Lockdown: Best Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge for St. Patrick’s Day Read More »
