I know I say this all the time…but, seriously, you are just like me. You have a lot to do. Huge amounts of things to plan and carry out and then you have STEM Friday to prepare for and you forget about it and at the last minute you try to throw it together.
Only the STEM Challenge you picked has some wonky materials and you don’t have all of them.
Okay, what if I can help you solve that with just ONE WORD: STRAWS!
The easiest material ever and some perfectly wonderful challenges to go with them! Add a little bit of tape and grab a box of straws!
Yes, that’s right. Straws.
Inexpensive, easily donated, flexible ( in more ways than one), and simple to use.
I am going to show you five ways these can be easy, arranged quickly, and much loved by students.
Now, full disclosure here, one of these does involve something you are going to need to plan ahead a little for.
Straw Bridges- 2 materials
This one is just straws and masking tape and some copies of the kinds of bridges. It’s that’s simple. Kids have a drawing of a bridge and then they get busy.
Above and below you see beam bridges and truss bridges.
The two below are just amazing, aren’t they? Suspension bridges! The kids loved this challenge and I did, too! It was so interesting to watch them decide which bridge to build.
So, if you have some straws and some tape this one can be tackled in a few minutes. You will have to make copies of the drawings and you can find those and all the directions right {HERE}.
All kids love an egg drop event!
I discovered a long time ago that kids love egg drops! Even if we don’t crack any eggs, they love the idea of tossing them to the ground. I have several egg drop challenges in my store, but you have to have some materials (like a PVC pipe) or you have to get kids to bring in things.
With this simple version, the only planning ahead would be in getting some eggs. Grab a dozen and then throw this simple challenge together for kids to complete in one hour! Straws are the main material, along with tissue paper, bubble wrap, and tape. More details can be found {HERE} and it really is easy.
Cup Towers are like a giant puzzle!
This one is a great STEM Friday choice. There is no fancy scenario to work through, no major set-up, you just jump right into it. It’s purely for fun and the problem solving is huge. My kids had the best time with this- even while complaining that it was hard! Ha! That’s why it’s called a challenge.
Using basic materials you probably have, straws is one of them, kids must build a tower that involves two cups. The cups have some wonky rules about their distance apart and height and the kids have to find a way to do it! The end result is scored and my kids loved using the rubric. More details about this one right {HERE}.
All time favorite is the famous Bucket Tower!
Here’s one more that uses straws and items you already have in your classroom. We called it bucket towers and the kids loved it! We worked through some alternative rules for this one and found it to be either really simple or really challenging. You can just choose what will work with your students. This one is also a perfect STEM Friday challenge! Read more about it right {HERE}.
Can you say the word geodesic?
Finally, here is one last challenge that uses straws. For this one, we used neon straws to make our final structure “pretty”, but you can use any straw, of course. The only other material will be pipe cleaners. The domes turned out really well and we still have some hanging in our classroom! Read more about these right {HERE}.
Five innovative challenges- one main material- kids love them! You can’t go wrong with straws!
I love reading all of your STEM posts! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Jan
Laughter and Consistency
Thanks so much for your kind words! I love my blog and sharing what we do! Kids are terrific! Have a great weekend!
I love the bucket towers! Very cool!
Lori @
Outside of My Classroom