1st Grade STEM Projects | Full-Year Engineering Activities

Grade 1 STEM Projects | 6 Major Projects + 12 Mini-Projects

Bring meaningful Grade 1 STEM projects into your classroom with a full collection designed to move students beyond simple building challenges. This resource gives young engineers repeated opportunities to design, build, test, improve, measure, and explain their thinking.

🔧 What’s Included

This resource includes 18 Grade 1 STEM projects:

⭐ 6 Major Projects

Each major project runs for 5 sessions and is designed to close a curriculum unit. The six major projects are extended, project-based versions of each unit's capstone challenge from the Grade 1 STEM Curriculum. The twelve mini-projects are new and stand alone.

• The Design Challenge Fair

• Build a Better Bridge

• The Motion Machine

• The Biomimicry Museum

• The Weather Report

• Young Engineers Showcase

✨ 12 Mini-Projects

Each mini-project runs for 3 sessions and can stand alone.

• The Great Egg Drop

• Cardboard Arcade

• Paper Airplane Lab

• Zip Line Challenge

• Catapult Challenge

• Insulated Cup Challenge

• Straw Rocket Lab

• Recycled Robot

• Musical Instrument Build

• Shadow Clock

• Class Garden Design

• Tower Rematch

The projects include clear criteria, constraints, materials, data plans, teacher directions, student planning pages, results pages, and reflection opportunities.

🏫 How It Works in the Classroom

Use these Grade 1 STEM projects as unit-ending experiences or flexible STEM activities throughout the year.

• Use major projects at the end of curriculum units.

• Drop mini-projects into spare weeks or replace a challenge.

• Organize students into teams, pairs, or individual projects.

• Display the driving question, criteria, and constraints.

• Have students plan before building.

• Give students opportunities to test, change, and retest.

• Collect real data and create graphs.

• Invite buddy classes, families, or school leaders to view student work.

The major projects intentionally reuse earlier builds and data, helping students see their STEM learning develop across the year.

📊 Standards & Learning Goals

Students practice age-appropriate engineering and STEM skills, including:

• Asking questions and identifying problems

• Planning and designing solutions

• Working within criteria and constraints

• Building and testing prototypes

• Measuring and recording results

• Comparing data

• Identifying patterns

• Improving designs based on test results

• Communicating engineering ideas

• Working collaboratively

• Presenting STEM learning to an audience

A key feature is the data plan built into every project. Students don't simply make something—they collect numbers, compare results, and use evidence to discuss their designs.

💛 Why Teachers Love It

⭐ Less planning: Complete project directions are already organized into sessions.

⭐ Real engineering: Students experience the full design process instead of completing one-off crafts.

⭐ Built-in differentiation: Support and extension suggestions are provided throughout the major projects.

⭐ Meaningful collaboration: Students work with clearly defined roles and shared goals.

⭐ Authentic assessment: Student pages capture planning, results, reflection, and improvement.

⭐ Great for showcases: Several projects naturally create displays or presentations for families and other classes.

⭐ Year-long progression: The final Young Engineers Showcase acts as a Grade 1 capstone, bringing the year's learning together.

✨ Perfect For

• Grade 1 STEM curriculum

• Elementary engineering activities

• STEM centers and stations

• Hands-on science and engineering

• Project-based learning

• End-of-unit projects

• Early finishers or spare STEM weeks

• STEM showcases and family events

• Engineering design challenges

If you want Grade 1 STEM projects that produce visible evidence of student thinking, this collection gives you a ready-to-use framework for the entire school year.

🚀 Ready to Get Your Young Engineers Building?

Give your students opportunities to design, build, test, measure, improve, and share like real engineers!

Explore this collection alongside your Grade 1 STEM curriculum for a year filled with purposeful, hands-on engineering.