4th Grade

At the beginning of the school year, our fourth graders took on the “Save Fred” STEM challenge! Fred, a gummy worm, was stranded on top of his overturned boat while his life preserver had fallen underneath. Using only two paper clips and without touching Fred, the boat, or the life preserver with their hands, students had to work together to flip the boat over and get Fred safely through his life preserver. Throughout the challenge, students had to think carefully about how different movements affected Fred, adjust their strategy when an idea didn’t work, and use the limited materials in creative ways. It was a great introduction to the way engineers test, rethink, and improve their ideas.