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Winter STEAM Challenge - SnowForce Engineers!
Welcome to our Winter STEAM Challenge!
“Attention, SnowForce Engineers!
A massive blizzard has swept through our town overnight. Roads are buried, sidewalks are frozen, and the snow just keeps falling!
The city needs your help. Your mission is to design and build a mini snow plow that can clear a path through the snow. But there’s a catch — your plow has to move the snow by pushing or pulling it from one end only.
You’ll have to think like real engineers — test your designs, make improvements, and work together to find the best way to move the snow efficiently.
The people are counting on you, SnowForce Engineers.
Can your team clear the way before the next storm hits?”
Objective
Design and build a device that clears snow (cotton balls, pom-poms, shredded paper) from a path by pushing or pulling only from one end — no touching the snow directly and no pushing/pulling from the middle or sides.
Key Constraints:
The device must be operated from one end only.
You cannot touch the snow directly with your hands.
Your device must clear as much snow as possible within a set number of passes or within a time limit.
The device should be sturdy and easy to maneuver along the length of the “road.”
Tips
Encourage students to think about blade shape (flat, curved, angled) and stability of their device.
Discuss how pushing vs. pulling changes the design approach and force application.
This activity should be done multiple times. Once they try to clear the path, they should analyze how successful their design is and see if they can redesign it to be a better plow.
Helpful Links:
SnowForce Engineers - have you ever been in the snow? Watch some videos about snow, snow plows, and blizzards to get some ideas of the device you might want to make:
Possible Materials:
Craft sticks (different sizes)
Plastic spoons, cups, or other items for scooping
Tape (scotch, masking, blue, etc.) or Glue
Scissors
Rubber Bands
Straws, Pipe Cleaners, String/yarn
“Snow”: cotton balls, pom-poms, shredded paper
Optional: Toy car or block base with wheels for younger students
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 many of these basic items! Just give me a bit of notice...
See if anything is already in your school's STEAM Lab
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!
Extensions:
Students can continue to adjust their designs to push or pull the plow with less effort. Add time constraints, more snow, a more complicated road, a different blade shape, or have them switch designs (if they created a push design, change to a pull).
Combine this with Robotics Coding - add the blade/scoop to a robot such as LEGO Spike, Dash, Ozobot, or Sphero - and see how well it will work when it is coded to plow the snow. Will they need to change their code to account for the added weight? Is it better on some paths but not others?
Careers:
Mechanical Engineer: Designs machines and systems that move, lift, or push — just like the mini snow plows. They study forces, friction, and motion to make vehicles and tools more efficient.
Civil Engineer: Plans and maintains roads, bridges, and city infrastructure — especially in snowy regions. They think about drainage, surface design, and safety during winter storms.
Industrial Designer: Creates the look and function of everyday tools and vehicles. Industrial designers focus on how something feels and works for real people — from shovels to snowblowers.
Meteorologist: Studies weather patterns to predict when and how much snow will fall. Their forecasts help engineers and city crews prepare for snow removal and road safety.
Materials Scientist: Tests and develops materials that can withstand cold, friction, and moisture. They help ensure that real snow plows don’t crack, rust, or slip during icy conditions.
Share with parents or during STEAM Night! Have students show how they made their plows. Maybe even set up a station for the families to try to make their own!
See the STEM Challenge Resources page for:
More on the Engineering Design Process
Planning Tools
Pre and Post Activity Ideas
Don't forget to REFLECT!
Don't forget to REFLECT!
Questions to ask the students:
What was the most effective design? Why?
Was there something that worked well for each group?
Is there a material that would have worked well that we didn't have?
What frustrated you about this challenge?
If we did this challenge again in a month, what would you do differently?
How well do you think your group collaborated, cooperated, and communicated to each other?
How was this challenge about perseverance? Flexibility? Patience?
Why Reflect in STEM?
Why Reflect in STEM?
Reflection in STEM is essential to both student understanding and teacher evaluation of students’ learning. Reflecting helps students make connections, understand their successes and failures, and become aware of their learning. Reflections help teachers identify where different students are in their learning process.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - HAVE FUN!!!
K–2 NGSS Connections
K–2 NGSS Connections
K-PS2-1 – Pushes and pulls cause motion.
K-PS2-2 – Tools can change the strength or direction of a force.
K-2-ETS1-1, 2, 3 – Ask, imagine, plan, create, test.
3–5 NGSS Connections
3–5 NGSS Connections
3-PS2-1 & 3-PS2-2 – Forces & motion; effects of balanced/unbalanced forces.
4-PS3-1 – Energy and motion
3-5-ETS1-1, 2, 3 – Plan and carry out tests to improve a design.
Middle School NGSS Connections
Middle School NGSS Connections
MS-PS2-1 – Motion is influenced by net force.
MS-PS2-2 – Predict motion patterns based on force & mass.
MS-ETS1-4 – Use design iteration and optimization.
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