Labor Day has passed and our homeschool co-op has met for the first time. This year, my son convinced me to teach a STEAM / Rube Goldburg class. I like to begin each year with a fun class to see my students in action. So we started with four challenges from my latest STEM In a Baggie packet.
I divided my class into four groups. For our session, I laid out one challenge card and several baggies on each of the tables. The students were divided into groups of two or three. They read the challenge and opened a bag to see what their supplies would be. After a time of brainstorming, they began to work on their solutions.
For our class, the students were given 20 minutes to work on each challenge before showing their solutions to my assistant or myself. After the time limit, the teams rotated to a new table to begin on a new challenge.
Today my students built scarecrow sculptures, leaf gliders, devices to catch apples and ways to help a spider fly.
The students all had some amazing ideas. By far the best ideas were for the Flying
Spiders. We had discussed how some spiders spin silken "balloons" to travel to new locations on the wind. So today I gave each team some spider rings and a bag of
materials to help them fly. They came up with so many ideas. Some students tried take the simple but effective route of blowing the spider out of their hands using the air from a balloon. (I applauded their creativity and sent them back to create something to help it fly.)
Some of the students used their balloons to help propel the spider to the finish line. Others created mini paper airplanes for the spider to ride on. My favorite group made a little parachute or sail and blew the spider across the table. So many different ways to accomplish the same task. I love the way these kids think!
If you would like to challenge your students to a fun day of fall themed STEAM challenges without breaking your bank, hop on over to my store and try out the whole
pack. The spider flying challenge is available as a freebie in my store. Try it out. If you like it, come back and see the other challenges I have available.
I hope your kids have as much fun as mine did.
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