{"id":3683,"date":"2019-02-10T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.helpteaching.com\/blog\/?p=3683"},"modified":"2024-09-17T06:02:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:02:18","slug":"101-engineering-stem-activities-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.helpteaching.com\/blog\/101-engineering-stem-activities-for-kids.html","title":{"rendered":"101 Engineering STEM Activities for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EngineeringEngineering is a key component of many STEM classes, but it can be an intimidating subject to teach for parents and teachers not primarily trained in the field. The good news is kids are often drawn to building and taking things apart, skills that can be nurtured with simple engineering activities. We\u2019ve gathered a list of 101 of our favorite hands-on activities that will get kids excited about the engineering design process. With some basic materials, and a bit of curiosity, kids will be designing, creating, testing, and improving solutions to engineering problems in no time!<\/p>\n

Transportation <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Whether your kids like boats that float or cars that go, these building activities will surely be a hit with those fascinated by forms of transportation.<\/p>\n

Storytime STEAM with Don\u2019t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!<\/a> Preschool Steam
\nHow to Make a Recycled Balloon Car<\/a> Left Brain Craft Brain
\nSquare Wheels<\/a> Exploratorium
\nRubber Band Car DIY<\/a> Figment Creative Labs
\nAbsorb the Shock!<\/a> Scientific American
\nPropeller-Powered Zipline Racers<\/a>\u00a0Digital Harbor Foundation
\nStraw Boats: Engineering Challenge for Kids<\/a> The Science Kiddo
\nMaking Simple Boats that Float<\/a> Teach Preschool
\nBuild a Paddle Boat<\/a> Rookie Parenting
\nCork Raft Building Challenge for Kids<\/a> Kitchen Counter Chronicles
\nSimple Cardboard Airplane Craft for Kids<\/a> Hands On: As We Grow
\nEgg Crate Airplane Engineering Project<\/a> Schooling Active Monkeys
\nDesign a Submarine<\/a> Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago<\/p>\n

Food Fun<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From marshmallows to spaghetti, using food can make for affordable and fun engineering projects.<\/p>\n

One Minute Marshmallow Engineering Challenge<\/a> Steam Powered Family
\nFamily Movie Night & S\u2019mores STEM Challenge<\/a> No Time For Flash Cards
\nLeaning Tower of Pasta<\/a> TeachEngineering
\nHow Strong is Spaghetti?<\/a> Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
\nCandy House \u2013 Making a Stable Structure<\/a> Science Sparks
\nDesign Challenge with Sticks, Clay, and a Mandarin<\/a> TinkerLab
\nEngineering with Food: Preschool STEM<\/a> My Mundane & Miraculous Life
\nEngineer a Gumdrop Structure<\/a> Creative Child
\nEdible Rovers<\/a> eGFI<\/p>\n

Back to Nature<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Get kids out of the house or classroom and into nature with these activities perfectly suited for the outdoors.<\/p>\n

Outdoor Engineering: Building Stick Forts<\/a> Little Bins Little Hands
\nPlayground Sized DIY Marble Run<\/a> Babble Dabble Do
\nLog Pile House Building Challenge<\/a> Inspiration Laboratories
\nHow to Make a Homemade Water Wall for Kids<\/a> Happy Hooligans
\nMudbrick Houses<\/a> Imagine Childhood
\nSpeedy Shelter<\/a> PBS Kids Design Squad Global
\nBuild a Shelter from the Sun and Test it with UV-Sensitive Beads<\/a> Buggy and Buddy
\nDesign A Seed Engineering Challenge<\/a> Share it! Science News
\nBackyard Pulley an Engineering Challenge for Kids<\/a> Kids STEAM Lab
\nDIY Solar Oven<\/a> The Craft Train
\nBackyard Railroad Engineering: Outdoor STEM Challenge for Kids<\/a> Adventure in a Box<\/p>\n

Robots Rock<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Be sure to ask kids what problems their robots will solve before they design, build, and test these marvelous bots.<\/p>\n

Build Your Own Robot Arm<\/a> TryEngineering
\nRobo Arm<\/a> PBS Kids Design Squad Global
\nSquishy Circuit Robot: Electrical Engineering Design Challenge<\/a> Lemon Lime Adventures
\nHomemade Spinning Brushbot<\/a> Research Parent
\nUpcycled Toy Car Marker Bots<\/a> Left Brain Craft Brain
\nHow to Make a Minion Scribble Bot<\/a> Science Sparks
\nDrawing Robot: Learn How to Create Robot Art<\/a> Rosie Research
\nBuild Your Own Underwater Robot<\/a> Science Buddies
\nEngineer a Bee<\/a> eGFI<\/p>\n

Simple Things<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sometimes the simplest things can make for the best engineering projects. Challenge kids to design and build with simple materials ranging from cups to straws to newspapers.<\/p>\n

Newspaper Engineering Challenge for Kids<\/a> The Educators\u2019 Spin On It
\n100 Cup Challenge<\/a> Busy Kids Happy Mom
\nBuilding With Straws: A STEM Activity<\/a> Kids Activities Blog
\nStraw Geodesic Dome<\/a> Babble Dabble Do
\nBuilding a Straw House<\/a> Deceptively Educational
\nFun and Easy Straw Rocket STEM Activity for Toddlers<\/a> Engineering Emily
\nDIY Magnetic Marble Run<\/a>\u00a0Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
\nHow to Make an Indoor Boomerang<\/a> What We Do All Day
\nIndoor Snowball Structures: Engineering for Little Hands<\/a> One Time Through
\nHow to Make a Bubble Blower Machine<\/a> Teach Beside Me
\nBalancing Dinosaur STEAM Activity for Kids<\/a> Rainy Day Mum
\nDIY Marble Mazes for Preschool Kids<\/a> Coffee Cups and Crayons
\nBuild a Cardboard Scissor Lift<\/a> Scientific American
\nC is for Catapult!<\/a> Go Science Kids
\nHow to Build the Eiffel Tower: An Engineering Project for Kids<\/a> KC Edventures
\nHow to Make Homemade Fidget Spinner<\/a> STEM Little Explorers
\n3D Shapes and Shapes Out of Straws and Pipe Cleaners<\/a> Meaningful Mama
\nSpider Web Construction<\/a> Rainy Day Mum
\nBuilding Toothpick Bridges<\/a> Eva Varga<\/p>\n

Teaching Tip:<\/strong> Turn a simple engineering activity into a lesson plan by having students follow the engineering design process. Ask students to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Define the problem<\/li>\n
  2. Do background research<\/li>\n
  3. Brainstorm and select a potential solution<\/li>\n
  4. Create a prototype<\/li>\n
  5. Test and evaluate the prototype<\/li>\n
  6. Improve upon the prototype<\/li>\n
  7. Communicate the results<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Get started with this engineering design challenge printable<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Holiday and Seasonal<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Incorporate engineering into your lessons with these activities themed around holidays and the seasons.<\/p>\n

    Christmas Engineering Activity for Kids<\/a> Fun-A-Day
    \n    Gingerbread Steam Project<\/a> The Homeschool Scientist
    \n    Candy Can Construction Bridge<\/a> Preschool Powol Packets
    \n    Build a Cornstarch Block Christmas Tree<\/a> Gift of Curiosity
    \n    Paper Circuit Snowman<\/a> Rosie Research
    \n    Sugar Cube Igloo Project<\/a> The Crafty Classroom
    \n    November STEM: Giant Balloons, Thanksgiving Parades, & Engineering<\/a> Get Caught Engineering
    \n    Halloween Robot Spider Craft<\/a> Inspiration Laboratories
    \n    Candy Heart Catapult<\/a> Stir the Wonder
    \n    Easter Catapult STEM Activity and Easter Science for Kids<\/a> Little Bins Little Hands
    \n    PEEPS Parachute STEAM Challenge in Early Childhood<\/a> The Preschool Toolbox
    \n    Engineering STEAM Activity: Build a Leprechaun Trap<\/a> Kids STEAM Lab<\/p>\n

    Reverse Engineering<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    If your kids are constantly taking things apart, reverse engineering may be just the thing for them!<\/p>\n

    Reverse Engineer a Solar Toy<\/a> From Engineer to Stay at Home Mom
    \n    Reverse Engineering a Fidget Spinner<\/a> From Engineer to Stay at Home Mom
    \n    Recycled Toy Robot Project with Reverse Engineered Toys<\/a> Brain Power Boy
    \n    Reverse Engineering Project: Disassemble, Sketch & Recap<\/a> TeachEngineering
    \n    Disassemble a Click Pen<\/a> TeachEngineering
    \n    Tinkering for Kids \u2013 Waffle Iron<\/a> Confidence Meets Parenting
    \n    STEM Tinkering Activity: Taking Apart an Old Toy<\/a> Little Worlds Big Adventures
    \n    Toy Take Apart<\/a> Exploratorium
    \n    Your Kids Should Be Taking Apart Electronics!<\/a> There\u2019s Just One Mommy<\/p>\n

    Making the World a Better Place<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Engineering projects should solve problems using design solutions. These activities will allow kids to explore how they can improve people\u2019s lives in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

    Earthquake Rollers<\/a> Scientific American
    \n    Convenient Carrier<\/a> PBS Kids Designer Squad Global
    \n    Articulated Grabber Engineering Project for Kids<\/a> Instructables
    \n    Build a Lung Model<\/a> US Patent and Trademark Office
    \n    Make Your Own Water Filters<\/a> TeachEngineering
    \n    Solving a \u2018Windy\u2019 Problem<\/a> Science Buddies
    \n    How to Make an Articulated Hand <\/a>Go Science\u00a0Kids
    \n    Building for Hurricanes<\/a> eGFI
    \n    Tornado Tower<\/a> Made for STEAM<\/p>\n

    Just for Fun: Engineering STEM Activities for Kids<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    These engineering activities don\u2019t fall into one of the above categories, but they do make for great learning opportunities for kids!<\/p>\n

    Engineering Kids | Rube Goldberg Machine<\/a> TinkerLab
    \n    Using Pool Noodles to Build a Playhouse<\/a> From ABCs to ACTs
    \n    PVC Pipe House Building Project Engineering STEM Activity<\/a> Little Bins Little Hands
    \n    STEAM Challenge: Build a structure you can balance on one finger (or your nose!)<\/a> Gift of Curiosity
    \n    Build a Satellite<\/a> NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    \n    How to Make Projector Using Smartphone and Magnifying Glass<\/a> STEM Little Explorers
    \n    Pneumatic Machine<\/a> Made for STEAM
    \n    Cardboard Automata<\/a> Exploratorium
    \n    How to Make a Water Wheel<\/a> Home Science Tools
    \n    Global Cardboard Challenge<\/a> Imagination.org<\/p>\n

    If you enjoyed this article, try our Ultimate Guide to Teaching Science<\/a> and our science worksheets<\/a> and lessons<\/a>\u00a0for more\u00a0great\u00a0teaching resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Engineering is a key component of many STEM classes, but it can be an intimidating subject to teach for parents and teachers not primarily trained in the field. The good news is kids are often drawn to building and taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[190],"tags":[31,165,15],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n