Spaghetti Tower STEM Challenge and Design Unit

The Engineering and Design Process is an engaging and interactive way to teach such an impactful STEM lesson.

The activities in this product are designed to challenge students to work together in groups to complete the given tasks. They are fun, engaging, and encourage students to work cooperatively.

Problem solving is an essential focus of all the activities.

Included in this teacher’s guide is a list of materials and step-by-step instructions for each activity. Each one of these activities fulfills numerous Next Generation Science Standards as objectives. A list of these standards is also included at the end of the teacher’s guide, for your convenience.

Additionally, this product also provides an overview of the Engineering and Design Process at the beginning of the unit and incorporates/revisits these critical thinking concepts throughout each activity.

There are two main parts to this product: a student notebook and an accompanying Power Point.

Students will have 10 different activities to complete.

Activities include:

1.     Aluminum foal boats

2.     Marshmallow spaghetti tower

3.     Marble run

4.     Straw bridge

5.     Gumdrop tower

6.     Marshmallow shooter

7.     Balloon-powered car

8.     Popsicle stick bridge

9.     Marshmallow catapult

10.  Index card tower

There is an engineering and design process rubric included. There is space for student and teacher evalution.

The Power Point is also available as a Google Slide link if you prefer that format. The Power Point is editable, as well. The Google Slide link is a read only copy. I have also included a few photos of my own students’ finished products, but there are many videos on YouTube that demonstrate each one of these activities, as they are all very commonly used as beginning STEM activities. I did not include any of the YouTube links because there are so many, and which videos/variations you prefer is up to you. ☺

35-slide PowerPoint

31-page student notebook (PDF)

14-page teacher guide (PDF)