If you are ready to design and build for Valentine’s Day here’s a treat for you – three challenges to help you celebrate and learn at the same time! We tested these last year and they were the favorites of every group! It might have had something to do with the candy involved, but the challenges were delightful, too!
Such creativity with these, too! Take a look!
DELIVERY ZIP LINES
These were tested with third graders! The story we used was that the post office was not delivering Valentine’s Gifts, so we needed a unique way to deliver a present to our moms! Why not a zip line?
Kids had to make the present carrier, decorate it, and determine a way to attach it to the zip line! It also had to hold the gift- which was a giant puffy heart I found at the Dollar Tree!
Such a fun challenge and another way this could be used would be to make it a homework challenge!
Have your kids take photos of the zip line that delivers an actual card or gift to their moms!
Wouldn’t that be fun!
CANDY BOXES
This was perfect for Valentine’s Day! I bought an array of Valentine’s decorated candy and put out a specific amount for kids to see.
Their challenge was to make the perfect candy box that would hold all the candy. Individual candy dividers were optional (and rather hard to make, I might add)!
The other part of this challenge that made it a fourth or fifth-grade challenge was the shape of the box. Of course, it had to be heart-shaped!
Kids had so many clever ways to create the heart-shaped bottom and top! We also added that the candy box had to have a clever name in order to market it! Fun!
BOW AND ARROWS
Yes, I know, you think I have lost my mind. And it did seem that way with the test class! I spent a lot of time saying, “Ooops, we need to make a rule for that!”
Example: I originally had toothpicks as one of the materials. Just think about that…. Yes, they made arrows with sharp points. Of course, they did. So, I took away the toothpicks and gave them Q-tips!
The second big rule change was the target where they could practice firing the arrows. We started with shooting at the lab tables, but I quickly changed that. We made a target on the wall, drew a line not to cross on the floor, and fired arrows only when I was standing there to supervise!
So, with a few strict rules, we turned this into a fabulous and fun fifth-grade challenge!
Have fun with your Valentine Engineering projects!
You might also enjoy these posts about seasonal events:
- Get a Head Start on Halloween
- Keeping Kids Engaged at the End of the Year
- A December Full of Learning
