Can you build a tall tower using only popsicle sticks and cupcake liners? Challenge children to build as tall as they can, while still keeping their tower strong and in tact with this no prep STEM challenge for kids. The activity is quick and easy to set up, but lots of fun and learning for kids.

STEM activities are a great way to encourage children to develop problem solving skills and pushing through challenges without giving up. The activities are an easy opportunity for children to experience mistakes and time to make changes and try it again.

STEM activities include a focus on skills in science, technology, engineering and math. A mix of as many of these subject areas as possible is best. At the end of the activity description below, you will find some ideas and ways to add other subject areas to this engineering focused challenge.

Over the years I have done countless STEM activities in my classroom and at home. I’ve seen the benefit and learning that comes from these activities. If you’re looking for more STEM ideas, check out some of Hands-On Teaching Ideas activity ideas, from 50 Simple STEM Activities using 15 Materials and the most popular group of 60 Best STEM Activities for Kids.

Grab more free task card with the collection of 33 STEM Challenge Task Cards. You’ll find 33 activity ideas, each with a printable activity card.

No Prep STEM Challenge for Kids

Materials

My favorite STEM challenges are ones that use material that I already have on hand. These activities don’t need to be expensive. It’s a great opportunity for kids to use familiar materials in a unique, and new way. The bonus with this no prep STEM challenge for kids is that all you need to do is gather the materials.

For this STEM challenge, you will need:

• Cupcake Liners (any color)
• Jumbo Popsicle Sticks
• Task Card (available for free at bottom of post)

Free STEM Task Card

Once you have the materials ready, you can start the challenge! The more of each material you can provide to each child or group, the more detailed their tower will become. With lots of materials, children will also add more details and the challenge will take longer. Provide what you can.

Before starting the challenge, read the task card to participants. The challenge is simple, “Use the materials to create a tower. How tall can you build?” Children can interpret the challenge in whatever way they want. Avoid giving too much direction and simply let children build.

No Prep STEM Challenge Solutions

One of my favorite things about STEM challenges is that each child, or group will often come up with a different solution. As long as children build some kind of tower, there is no right or wrong answer. It is always fascinating to see what they come up with.

Children may find as they start building that it is challenging to make their tower balance and stay standing. They should expect their creations to fall several times while building. The hope is that when their structure falls, children realize that it’s simply a chance to try again. They can consider what went well and what they need to change to make it better as they build again.

Some children may choose not to use all of the materials at all. Some of my students decided that they didn’t want to use the popsicle sticks and instead only built with the cupcake liners. Most groups realized quickly that this was not the best way to build, but that’s all part of the experimenting with the challenge.

Some of the groups towers ended up looking better, and being more solid than the others. As long as the tower stands, consider it a success. Depending how long you give kids to build they will add to their creations and begin to make it with extra details and even make it look better physically.

No Prep STEM Challenge

Extension Ideas

If you want to make the activity more challenging, you can limit the amount of cupcake liners and popsicle sticks you give to kids. For example, give each child only 20 liners and 10 sticks. This encourages children to be mindful about how their materials are used.

To add math to the challenge, you can measure the height of each tower and compare who, or which group, has the tallest tower. You can also test to see who has the strongest tower by placing items on top of the tower after it has been build. How much weight can the tower hold? Use things like coins to test the strength.

This STEM challenge can also be done at home or sent with children to go anywhere, by putting the materials in a sealable bag. Children can then take the materials with them and play and build virtually anywhere. It’s a great screen-free activity.

You can also have children plan their building before actually starting. They can draw a sketch of their tower and what they plan to build. As children then begin building things may not go as they had planned, but this is a key part of the process.

Grab the Free Printable Task Card Here

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