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Winter STEAM Activity
Build a Candy Dispenser!
It's time for the next STEAM Activity of the year!
What could be better than CANDY? And just in time for Valentine's Day!
In this challenge, students will use whatever materials you wish to provide (or that they bring) to create their candy dispenser. They will have to think about the type of candy (or candies) their dispenser will hold, how fast/slow it will come out, how to refill it, and more. Let's get started!
A few things to get them into the Challenge...
The History of PEZ - PEZ Candy USA - (2:55)
The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle - (not exactly candy, but a fun book about inventing and a sweet treat!) - (13:36)
How Does a Gumball Machine Work? - (up to you if you want to show before letting them try on their own, but it's pretty cool!) - (5:10)
Possible Materials:
Cardboard, Poster board
Construction paper
Craft sticks, Coffee Stirrers
Rubber Bands
Tape (different kinds)
Scissors
Pipe Cleaners
Straws
Cups
LEGO pieces
Dowel Rods, Wooden Skewers
Candy
Where can you get materials (other than purchasing it all yourself)?
Ask students to each bring in something
Ask parents to donate items
Science Center - I can give you rubber bands, Coffee Stirrers, tape, cups, and straws! I can also give you some LEGO pieces but you'll have to make sure they get back to me! I can probably get you candy too!
See if anything is already in your school's STEAM Lab
Let's Get That Candy Flowing!
Purpose: Design a functioning candy dispenser that can be refilled, and has an opening with a door that opens, closes, and latches.
Questions to think about:
What do you know about how dispensers (such as gumball machines) work?
How can you create a small enough opening so that only a few pieces of candy come out at a time?
How can you create the latch to release the candy?
Helpful things you can use:
Don't forget about the Engineering Design Process! Give them time to IMPROVE their designs, to TEST them out, and SHARE their results!
Engineers and scientists and many other people in multiple industries do this all the time!
This is also a great time to talk about FAILURE!
Failure is part of life! Failure is OK and good for us! Famous people, inventors, heroes, and more FAIL all the time! We would never improve if we didn't fail!
Troubleshooting:
There are multiple ways that candy can be dispensed from a machine - this is up to you if you want it to be classic "gumball" style or a free for all.
Definitely have them practice with other items before using the candy. Or, they should continually reuse the same 5-10 pieces of candy as they build and practice until they are ready to present.
It's probably a good idea to have the dispenser taped to the desk if it's not heavy enough.
Yes, the type of dispenser will depend on the type of candy they choose (size, shape, how many candies, etc).
Extensions:
Make it a budgeting activity - each material is a cost (like in real life!)
Add a second candy chute to make it a 2-candy dispenser (or even more if you have students who are doing amazing!)
Look into some careers that would work with this field such as food scientists (creating new candies and flavors), industrial engineers (enhance systems like vending machines), or even robotics (how to code machines to dispense candy).
Share with parents or during STEAM Night! Have students show how they made their dispensers and explain how it works to their families. Maybe even set up a station for the families to try to make their own!
Invite younger students in to show them their projects and see if they can understand how it works.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - HAVE FUN!!!
Adapted from : Candy Dispenser Challenge "STEM + Families" PTA.org/STEM
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