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What does STEM stand for? If you haven't heard by now, STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. These paper bag STEM challenges are perfect for a screen free week of play and learning. Our paper bag STEM challenges are perfect for the younger age group who may still need minimal help from adults as well as older kids who love to invent ne things. Have fun with all of our science and STEM activities.

WHAT ARE STEM ACTIVITIES?

Generally STEM activities or challenges solve a problem. They involve a bit of science, technology, engineering, and math or some combination of two or more of the concepts. A good STEM project will move kids through the design process, and we now have a cool printable that will really motivate them to touch on each of the design steps!
Our goal is to provide you with STEM challenges: that can be done quickly (or over a period of time) that are low cost that don't take a ton of set up time.
STEM might sound complicated or to0 hard to set up...

You might think that STEM only comes in kits...

We are here to show you just how easy and fun STEM really is!

Set up STEM challenges at home, use with small groups in the classroom, or offer it in a club setting!

Right now we have an awesome week of paper bag STEM challenges all planned out for you! The designs and solutions your kids come up with, are completely up to them!

I designed these paper bag STEM challenges based on my son's interests and abilities. I will be on hand to help and guide, but I don't want to direct the activity for him. However, I will ask open ended questions if he seems to be stuck on an idea. Again us our design process steps to success printable to help get you started!

Check out last week's computer take apart STEM activity.

GETTING STARTED WITH PAPER BAG STEM CHALLENGES

Paper Lunch Bags

Variety of Materials: listed below for each activity. (You can substitute as needed.)

Printable Pages: You can print out our STEM planning and design process worksheets by clicking on the black boxes below. Give them to your kids to help them get started or extend a lesson in the classroom or homeschool setting.
NEW! 5 Day STEM Challenge Starter Pack >>>> Check it out here and download your free copy.
PAPER BAG STEM CHALLENGES

Here is a whole week of pre-planned STEM ideas, challenges, and activities perfect to get kids off the screens and into creating!

I have a big collection of recyclable and non-recyclable items from around the house, from packages we receive, and from old toys and electronics. Designate a large storage bin for your STEM challenge supplies.

Toss cool and useful items into it. You will be happy you did! Kids love to create. Read all about STEM ON A BUDGET to learn more about how we do STEM!

STEM CHALLENGE #1 BUILD A CUP TOWER

Use a ruler to determine the height of the tower. 12″, 36″, or as tall as your kids!

SUPPLIES: Paper or plastic cups and rulers

STEM CHALLENGE #2 SINK THE BOTTLE

Can you sink a plastic bottle without filling it with water? No other rules! What can you do to the bottle or fill the bottle with to sink it? Kids should have access to items around the room or yard. If not, have some items already gathered they can test out.

SUPPLIES: Plastic water bottle, bucket of water, and additional items

STEM CHALLENGE #3 BUILD A PULLEY OR WINCH

Build a working pulley!

SUPPLIES: Cardboard tubes, pencils, lids, spools, string, cups, etc

Check out our neat Simple Machine: Winch!

STEM CHALLENGE #4 SLOW BALL ROLL

How slow can you make the ball roll? Time your slow ball roll. Can you make it go slower? What do you need to add or take away?

SUPPLIES: Large slanted surface or wall space, cardboard tubes and other recyclables including paper and tape. Some sort of ball like a ping pong ball.

STEM CHALLENGE #5 MARSHMALLOW TOWER

How tall of a tower can you build a tower of marshmallows?

SUPPLIES: Marshmallows and toothpicks

Try our Snack Time STEM Challenge too!

STEM CHALLENGE #6 CAR LAUNCH

How far can you get a car to travel with out continuously pushing it, blowing on it, or adding another source of movement to it. Kids will need access to items to build ramps, launches, and jumps. Try a balloon car or a rubber band car!

SUPPLIES: Small cars, tape measure, and various materials

STEM CHALLENGE #7 MYSTERY CHALLENGE

It's a surprise! Fill the bag with whatever random supplies you want. That's all the kids get to build an invention! suggest they build something to solve a problem or meet a need.

SUPPLIES: Our bag includes pipe cleaners. straws, a balloon, plastic bottle caps, plastic bottle, small cups, a kleenex box, and random packaging items. Make sure to leave access to tape, string, scissors, and other essentials.

STEM ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Essentials to have on hand for anytime paper bag STEM challenges include pipe cleaners, straws, paper clips, tape, markers, paper, popsicle sticks, balloons (why not!), nuts and bolts, scissors, rulers, glue sticks, and whatever else you have! Our has some great lists for preparing your STEM cabinet or maker space. Our new STEM ON A BUDGET 5 Day STEM Challenge Starter Pack also has some great materials lists.

Write out a paper bag STEM challenges plan for the week. My son likes to have a specific problem to solve. Open ended invitations are not preferred and often don't last long but having an immediate problem to solve is more fun!

Fun STEM challenges for young kids! My son is in kindergarten but these will work through grade school. Kids need less adult participation as they get older making these ideas perfect for multiple ages.

Make a week's worth of paper bag STEM projects for screen free fun.

Use our paper bag STEM activity ideas as a stepping stone for more STEM ideas. Check out what you have, and think about what your kids like to do! Put together your paper bag STEM challenges from there.

FUN PAPER BAG STEM CHALLENGES FOR A WEEK OF INVENTING

Check out all of these awesome science and STEM resources to keep you and your kids busy this season and all year round.

We are participating in the 28 Days of Hands-On STEM activities for kids!

FAVORITE STEM PRODUCTS with Amazon Affiliate Links

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Paper Bag STEM Challenges Week with STEM Activities for Kids

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What does STEM stand for? If you haven't heard by now, STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. These paper bag STEM challenges are perfect for a screen free week of play and learning. Our paper bag STEM challenges are perfect for the younger age group who may still need minimal help from adults as well as older kids who love to invent ne things.

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Free Paper Airplane Designs-Printable Templates

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Free Paper Airplane Designs-Printable Templates

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A Marble Machine is a creative ball-run contraption, made from familiar materials, designed to send a rolling marble through tubes and funnels, across tracks and bumpers, and into a catch at the end.

We often suggest a goal of getting the marble to travel from the top of the board to a target at the bottom as slowly as possible. But that's only one possible starting point for what can quickly turn into an addictive experience. You can set many challenges for yourself, the fun is in trying to solve them: make the marble travel uphill for a section, or go up and then come back down; try to make a loop-de-loop, or an elevator to bring the marble back to the top of the board; or even use multiple marbles for more complex chain-reactions.

Diverse Solutions to a Shared Theme

There are several different, individual solutions and creative designs. No two Marble Machines look alike.

Collaborative Opportunities

Sharing each completed Marble Machine at the end of the activity is a good way for participants to contribute to the group's understanding of the activity.

What are the qualities that we value in this activity?

Reusable Materials and Components

This activity utilizes a set of materials that can be used again and again, by a variety of participants, in a variety of ways.

Creative Ways to Express Understanding

Thinking is made visible through the construction and adjustments made to the individual Marble Machines. New challenges and questions arise throughout this process.

"Tinkering is about pushing the boundaries of what you think is possible for yourself. It's about growing." - Lianna Kali

We are passionate about sharing our work and developing a community of people interested in these activities, practices, and ideas. The guides below are free to download and use to help you get started with tinkering, whether it's at home, or in your school or educational institution.

View this activity on Instructables

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A Marble Machine is a creative ball-run contraption, made from familiar materials, designed to send a rolling marble through tubes and funnels, across tracks and bumpers, and into a catch at the end. We often suggest a goal of getting the marble to travel from the top of the board to a target at the bottom as slowly as possible.

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A database of paper airplane folding designs and instructions

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Free science lesson plans designed to engage students through hands-on experiments and activities. Chemistry, life sciences, physics, engineering and more, for elementary, middle and high school teachers.

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Instructables.com - No Sew Duct Tape iPhone Case

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Instructables.com - No Sew Duct Tape iPhone Case

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Inspired by the popularity of the No-Sew Duct Tape Wallet and the No-Sew Duct Tape Zipper Pouch, I decided to create a No-Sew Duct Tape iPhone Case! Of course, you can modify this style to fit any phone, or use it for something else entirely.

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Race Tiny RumbleBots with a Hand-Cranked Raceway | Make:

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Race Tiny RumbleBots with a Hand-Cranked Raceway | Make:

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"Cool! But what the heck makes them move forward?!"

When I first read about Bob Knetzger's "Hog Holler" toy in Make: Volume 41, I was captivated. I knew I had to make something similar for my 6th-grade science students to investigate. The concept seemed simple: vibrations from the player's voice jiggled a platform, causing little plastic "hogs" to move down a path. But wouldn't their movements be random, not directional? Perhaps the path angled slightly downhill? Hmmm.

I contacted Bob and he explained that angled "legs" are the key to directional movement. Folk toys often used broom bristles or thin wooden strips, he explained. Aha! Progress.

The next problem was devising a new source of vibrations. Initially, I banged drumsticks on a large plastic pan, which did move my critters forward. Still, I sought a more consistent vibration. I considered speakers playing set tones, or motors with off-center weights attached to their shafts. After making little progress, I again reached out to Bob. He sent me a video in which the teeth of a gear turned by hand engaged the edge of the track. How simple! Here's my classroom version of Bob's invention.

My Rumblebot Raceway

The vibrating track is a 6″×30″ piece of poster board, about 1/16″ thick, as shown below.

This track rests in table saw blade grooves cut into 2 wooden sides made from ¾" plywood, 32″ long and 6″ tall. The grooves begin about 1½" up from the bottom and are about 3/8″ deep. (None of these exact dimensions are crucial.)

A wooden strip, cantilevered over the track, creates 2 lanes for the racers.

A single gear about 2½" in diameter, mounted on an axle, grates against one end of the track to drive my Rumblebots. A freestanding base allows adjustment of the gear's position on the track.

The Rumblebots

For the bots themselves, I settled on two basic designs. In the first, I cut a block of styrofoam to fit in a given lane. On its bottom, I cut angled grooves with a razor saw, perpendicular to its length. Into these grooves I placed paper, cardboard, pine needles, pins - most anything imaginable - to serve as legs:

In the second design, I took index cards and angled the front and back in similar directions. I then cut wedge-shaped legs on the front and back, as shown below.

Rumblebot Racers - A Family Science Project

I offered Rumblebot Racers as a Family Science project to my 6th graders. This means it was not required, nor were any rewards (candy, extra credit) given. Rather, the joy of learning was the motivator for students. I encouraged them to work with friends or family members. I made them a video to explain the project:

Nineteen students built rumblebots. Two of our custodians even participated. (Their first design featured porcupine quill legs!) Many of my students, taking my suggestion of researching "bristlebots," used toothbrushes. To my dismay, I finished second to one of my students! Here is Alex with her winning rumblebot:

How Do Students Benefit?

Here's what Alex had to say about the project: "I watched the video and made a list of materials I needed. I followed your suggestion on the video and researched Bristlebots. I saw they were made from toothbrushes and motors. I tried using some old, used toothbrushes, and also hairbrushes. Toothbrushes worked best. The toothbrush tipped over easily, so I attached a cardboard top to keep it upright. To test my rumblebots, I placed a piece of cardboard over two pencils and tapped on the cardboard. Once I knew they worked, my mom bought some new toothbrushes. I tried connecting two and three together, but one by itself worked best for me. I liked beating Mr. Stith!"

Another student, Felicia, built a bot (above) that did not move forward, only bounced up and down. Her design problem? Vertical legs. Did this mean Felicia's effort was a waste of time? "I still had fun thinking up my own design, and I'm glad I did the project. I saw that when we put the Q-tips into the block at an angle, it did move forward!" (Learning achievement unlocked!)

The world our students inhabit grows more and more virtual every year. Much of what they experience is through a screen. I love seeing students manipulate materials according to their own designs (as opposed to fitting one Lego into another). You can see all the student rumblebot designs and watch actual races below:

Next, I'll challenge my students to create Rumblebot Sumos (push opponents out of a central zone) and a Rumblebot U-Turn (execute a half-circle turn, and exit the surface on the same edge as they started). Who knows what projects my students may soon be designing for others?

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Race Tiny RumbleBots with a Hand-Cranked Raceway | Make:

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"Cool! But what the heck makes them move forward?!" When I first read about Bob Knetzger's "Hog Holler" toy in Make: Volume 41, I was captivated. I knew I had to make something similar for my 6th-grade science students to investigate.

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A WONDERFUL EVENT, FREE, FOR ANY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN AMERICA
2020: Covid-19 Response: Recipient of Infosys Foundation USA Grant for "Home Edition" Family Code Night

2019: NCNights.org featured presentation at CSforAll Summit

For Any School or District:
An Ideal First or Next Step in CS Education and Family Engagement
​

Join more than 6,000 Principals, Parents and Educators nationwide who have downloaded the Family Code Night Event Kit.

​And After Your Family Code Night...
MORE FREE KITS for continued family-engaged computer-science learning!
Visit " The Pathway" Resource Library .

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A WONDERFUL EVENT, FREE, FOR ANY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN AMERICA 2020: Covid-19 Response: Recipient of Infosys Foundation USA Grant for "Home Edition" Family Code Night 2019: NCNights.org featured presentation at CSforAll Summit For Any School or District:An Ideal First or Next Step in CS Education and Family Engagement​ Join more than 6,000 Principals, Parents and Educators nationwide who have downloaded the Family Code Night Event Kit.

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Teacher instructions and activity worksheet

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Teacher instructions and activity worksheet

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Teacher instructions and activity worksheet