Pasta Tower STEM Challenge for Middle School Students.

My Pasta Tower Challenge is an excellent way to get your students' excited for STEM in an engaging hands-on way. It also is a great way to introduce them to the world of engineering.

This activity is designed for Middle School students. If you're looking for something for High School, please click here.

In this activity, students will work in groups to design and build a Pasta Tower using only uncooked pasta and marshmallows with the goal of building the largest free-standing tower possible.

By doing this activity, your students will experience the process of creating something new as they brainstorm, plan, design, and test their ideas.

This challenge allows students to apply what they're learning in science and math classes, including geometry, physics, material science and more as they problem-solve to create a strong, stable tower using only simple materials. Additionally, they will develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration skills while working in a group setting.

Your STEM Challenge comes with:

• A full set of instructions

• Reflection questions

• An explanation on the science behind the challenge

• Instructions on creating their design

• Tips for getting started on the challenge

The Pasta Tower Challenge is an activity your students will enjoy. It will allow them to:

• explore how shapes and structure affect stability.

• learn principles of weight distribution.

• use the engineering design process.

• develop perseverance, resourcefulness and an ability to learn from setbacks and mistakes.

This activity is easy to implement with step-by-step instructions and is adaptable to different learning styles and abilities as you can customize it however you like to suit your students. It encourages students to embrace productive failure and to work together to create something tangible.