Stem challenges

Discover some fascinating, no prep, STEM activities and challenges you can do with your students using paper! Engineering, math and science.

Are you ready for this? Brace yourselves! What would you do with ten tons of pencils you don't need? We built stuff. Don't worry- the pencils were not wasted! It's the great Pencil Challenge extravaganza! Okay, full disclosure here! I am a teacher.Why wouldn't I need pencils?So, let me explain (and I know I begin a lot of

If you are ready to try a STEM Challenge let's talk all about supplies. These easy-prep and engaging challenges will work perfectly with limited resources.

Bucket Towers is an original STEM Challenge for upper elementary classes and it is a student favorite. You will love the easy prep! This is hard to believe, but some of our best STEM Challenges have been created accidentally. The STEM Bucket Tower challenge is one of those! Building boats was another total spur-of-the-moment challenge.

Looking for a free STEM activity for the elementary classroom? Teachers are loving STEM because it's fun, hands-on, and engaging. The challenges are great for team building. This challenge is free and easy to implement. Great for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. I usually use this challenge for back to school stem, but it can be done at any time. Students will have a great time working together to discuss, design, build, and reflect.

A few days ago I was putting together some containers of STEM materials, using straws for the challenge, and heard a student say this: "I see straws in those bins. We use a lot of straws!" Yes, we do! In fact, we use so many straws for challenges that I asked for straws to

Build a device with paper, tape, string, and paper clips to pick up a ping pong ball from a distance in this fun engineering lesson plan!

First day of school activities and ideas especially for upper elementary third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade students.

Here’s a fun STEM challenge, and the materials couldn’t be simpler! Challenge kids to build the longest possible paper chain with just one sheet of paper and tape. That’s it! This math activity will appeal to a wise range of ages. I’d recommend it for kids age 5 to 10. If they can safely cut […]

Build a marble run with an unlikely material… play dough! There are actually two STEM challenges with marbles and play dough in this post, and they are both a ton of fun for a wide range of ages. Best of all, the materials are cheap and can be used again on another day. Here’s a […]