STEAM Challenges

Versatile STEAM activities that work beautifully for first-week excitement, end-of-year fun, or anytime you need an engaging team challenge!

Teaching Tip: Have students do a planning session with their classmates, where they put their ideas on paper before they get access to the materials.

Saving Fred

Here are the rules!

Fred cannot fall into the “lake” (the table/floor). If he falls, Fred “drowns.”
Do not injure Fred — no stabbing, tearing, or damaging him with the tools.
You cannot touch the materials directly with your hands (unless you are resetting the challenge).
The goal: rescue Fred by getting his life preserver around him while following all the rules.

Teacher Tip: Side note: If you have groups of 4 (as opposed to 2) you can have students limited to only being able to use 1 paperclip, which hopefully will lead to teamwork (as opposed to arguments LOL)

Supplies Needed (per group)
4 paper clips
1 plastic cup
1 gummy worm
1 gummy ring

Overly Dramatic Trailer

Save Fred (1:04 min)

This music is lively, upbeat, fun and uplifting, great as background music!

Debbie Rice

Instructions and Rules

Saving Fred (1:40 min)

Can you help save Fred using just 4 paper clips?

Adrianne Holmes

A young student group attempts to save Fred!

Saving Fred the Worm (1:02 min)

Just a short clip showing 1st Graders attempting challenge. Super helpful in showing older students that this task is not impossible!

Wellsville NY CSD

Tower Building

There are so many supply options for this activity! You don’t have to be the “fun teacher” who uses marshmallows and gumdrops—you can be the creative teacher who uses expired spaghetti and tape. Or even better, the teacher who keeps it simple with just index cards and no tape at all. The challenge is in the design, not the materials!

Before you start set some criteria:

Will students have access to unlimited materials?

Will there be a time limit?

Will students be able to tape their tower to the ground?

Teacher Tip: If you want to add an extra component to the challenge, here are some ideas.

Strongest Tower (holds the most weight)
Earthquake challenge (survives a shaking test)
Wind challenge (survives a fan/blowing test)

Straw Towers

Straw Towers to the Moon (1:08 min)

in two mini-activities that prepare them for a culminating challenge to design and build the tallest straw tower possible, given limited time and resources.

Teach Engineering

Straw Towers

Supplies Needed

Straws
Scissors
Tape

Spaghetti and TapeTowers

Towers with Pasta (2:58)

Utilize triangles for stability while constructing tall, freestanding towers using only spaghetti and tape.

Brain Chase

Spaghetti and Marshmallow Towers

Spaghetti and Marshmallows Tower (3:00)

Taking part by building the tallest tower with spaghetti and marshmallows.

TheDadLab

Pasta Towers

Supplies Needed

Spaghetti (or toothpicks)
Tape (or marshmallows or gumdrops)

Newspaper Towers

Newspaper Towers (2:35 min)

Student groups are challenged to design and construct model towers out of newspaper.

Teach Engineering

Paper Towers

Supplies Needed

Newspaper, paper, or index cards
Tape (or no tape)

Paper Rockets

Teacher tips:

Students can work in partners or indiviually.
Create a starting point for students to test their rockets.
Show a quick example, not a perfect example. Let students see how the rocket works, but avoid showing a “best” design so they create their own solutions.
Let students test and redesign. The engineering process is the focus—encourage students to improve their rockets after each launch.
You can set the criteria however you see fit. Here are the typical goals:
- Longest distance traveled.
- Most accurate rocket (hits a target)