Daily STEM Challenges

STEM Team Challenges

KTI 2017

Emphasize the 4Cs - Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity and the 5th C, Compassion

Challenge supply lists are based on 100 participants.

Spaghetti Tower - teams work to build the tallest tower possible using spaghetti and mini marshmallows. (5 minutes)

Supplies - 10 bags mini marshmallows, 10 boxes spaghetti, yardsticks

Newspaper Structures - Teams build the tallest newspaper structure possible with ONLY newspaper. (No tape, scissors, etc.) Hint - paper can be manipulated in a LOT of different ways to provide support.

Supplies - Lots of newspaper - each team needs a 2-inch stack.

Sneak a Peek Building - (AT TABLES TO GET THE FIRST CLUE) One team member has 5 seconds to look at a pre-made building using cubes. They instruct the rest of the team to build an identical building. After 30 seconds, another team member comes up to look for 5 seconds and report back to the team. Continue until one team is first to make an identical building

Supplies - lots of Unifix cubes.

Golf Ball Drop - Teams build a box or basket that will catch a golf ball dropped from 10 feet. (5-7 minutes)

Supplies - 240 plastic straws (12 per team), masking tape (2 feet per team), 20 golf balls ; grade level signs hung around perimeter of the room.

Enemy Lines - teams work to get a plastic Army guy across a line without touching it.

Supplies - each team needs 1 (20)plastic Army guy, 2 feet of string, 1 (20)paper cup, 1 (20) plastic spoon, 6 (120) pop sticks, 2 (40) rubber bands, 2 feet of masking tape.

PPUFOs - Paper Plate Unidentified Flying Objects - Teams design and build an object that can fly 20 feet or more using 2 paper plates and masking tape.

Supplies - Each team needs 2 paper plates (40), 2 feet of masking tape, and a scissors.

BUILD A BETTER BIRD’s NEST - Teams use resources from nature to try to construct a bird’s nest that will hold 3 marbles as the wind blows from a fan.

Marble Track - Teams use a variety of materials to build a track that will place a marble in a taped off square on the floor. Points for distance from track to square. (10 minutes)

Supplies - each team gets a sheet of cardstock (20), scissors (20), 3 straws (60), 2 feet of string, 3 paper sheets of copy paper (180), 5 mailing labels (4 sheets), 4 paper clips (80), 3 rubber bands (60), 2 pencils (40), 1 marble (20)