Designing a bridge to span a gap and hold weight is so exciting! This is a highly engaging activity and students love it! We have built so many different types of bridges. Students love to drive little cars across their bridges and they love to add weight to the bridge to see how well it will ... READ the POST
No Locks Easy Prep Escape Rooms!
Are you ready for an Escape Room in your classroom? I have something that works so well and it's EASY PREP! Have you ever been to a live Escape Room event? I mean one where you are actually locked in a room! I have been twice and, wow! The puzzles are hard. Thank goodness the people with me were ... READ the POST
Up, Up, and Away with Parachutes
The first time I tried designing parachutes in STEM class I was flabbergasted by how much the students were engaged and how much they loved it. It could be because they stood on the tabletops to launch their parachutes! It is really an enlightening challenge and I have some tips for you about ... READ the POST
Keeping Introverts Engaged
Full disclosure: I am an introvert. As a young student I was the student that followed all the rules and never raised my hand or spoke out. I did not want attention called to myself. In a group, I rarely spoke and never took charge. I am fairly certain I would not have enjoyed STEM ... READ the POST
5 Awesome (and Unique) Tower Challenges for STEM
Let's take a look at five unique tower-building challenges that also happen to be easy prep! One of the first one-day challenges we ever tried was a tower-building one. The Spaghetti Tower! Now, let's back up and explain. The first challenge we tried was a multi-day activity. That's right! And ... READ the POST
Why You Need to Build Towers (A Tower Round-Up)
We build towers quite often! But, why? I have a few reasons. This Tower Round-up will answer your questions. First, let's see just how many different kinds of towers we have tried: are you ready for the number? 16. Sixteen. And that is not counting the ones we tried that were failures that I ... READ the POST