It’s time for week 8 of our STEM at Home Challenges! Visit our blog every Thursday to see our latest STEM challenge and share your creations on Facebook using #CMMSSTEMChallenge or by emailing marketing@childrensmanor.com.

Your Goal:

Use your engineering and math skills to build a structure out of index cards that can hold the weight of a stuffed animal, and then a heavier object like bean bags, a canned food item. Please complete and share your photos with marketing@childrensmanor.com by Monday, May 25, 2020.

Materials:

• • Up to 100 Index cards or playing cards (or similar thick paper, like construction paper cut into 3×5) 
  • 12 inches of masking or other tape
  • A ruler or tape measure
  • Scissors 
  • Testing items: A stuffed animal, bean bags, a canned good, see what is the heaviest item you can get your structure to hold

Some Rules: 

• • The structure must be as tall as possible (aim for at least 2 ft tall)
  • It must be freestanding
  • It must be able to hold a small stuffed animal (or other object)
  • You do not have to use all the tape, but don’t use any extra.
  • You may cut the index cards if you wish. 
  • You may not tape or glue your structure to the table or floor.

The process: 

1. 1. Brainstorm: Think about what kind of structure will be able to hold your heavy items. Draw it out and make a plan.
   2. Build: Start to build your structure, adapt your idea and building structure as you go.
   3. Test: 
      • First, take a picture to send to marketing@childrensmanor.com of you and your structure before testing with your heavy item.
      • Then test your structure by first placing the stuffed animal, to see if it will hold. Then move on to a heavier item and see how far you can go. If you can get a picture with your structure holding your heavy item, please do.
      • If your structure wasn’t able to hold your stuffed animal, brainstorm what may have gone wrong, and try again!
   4. Share: Share your photos and results with us at marketing@childrensmanor.com.

Get the whole family involved in this challenge and see who can build the structure that can hold the heaviest item!