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Looking for STEM activities for kids? We got you covered with this straw STEM activity. This activity is great for kids of all ages, particularly preschoolers and elementary school aged kids. So whether you’re at home or in the classroom you have to try these fun STEM activities for kids.
STEM Activities For Kids
Every week we are in a classroom with 25-30 kids building something crazy with supplies we can grab from our kitchen. Today it was straws!
There are so many cool things kids can do with straws. Ask them if they ever wondered how to build a straw tower without tape? Or what about how to make straw house for school project? Who knew straws could be so much fun!! If you were looking for straw building projects, today’s your lucky day because we are doing fun science experiments using straws.
Related: How to Make a Jetpack Craft with Recycled Materials and How to Make Moon Rocks – Sparkly & Fun!
STEM Activities with Straws
I love building stem activities because they are so much fun and don’t require a lot of prep! Straws are so versatile, and that’s an amazing quality especially when you need team building games using straws.
Our STEM classroom is set up with tasks and challenges that the kids race to complete. Armed with only straws, tape, a stop watch, and a partner, the kids had 30 minutes to create a globe, from straws. Three teams out of nine were able to pull this task off! They made spheres!
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Supplies Needed For This Fun Straw Stem Activity For Kids
How to Set up This Fun and Educational STEM Challenge For Kids:
Step 1
Pinch the mouth of the straws to make them smaller and stuff them into another straw’s end.
Step 2
Do this with three straws and then connect them together to become a triangle.
Step 3
Take five of the triangles and unite them together to make a pentagon.
Step 4
You will need three of these straw pentagons along with seven additional triangles.
Step 5
Tape the pentagons together, and as you wrap them together, connect the missing sections with the remaining triangles.
Viola!
Your kids just make a globe! Use this secret to figure out how to make things out of straws, like a straw house.
Alternative Way To Set Up Your Straw Stem Activity
Do not give your kids the directions.
Tell them the end result and give them the tools to succeed. In this case the tools were the supplies. Your kids have to use problem solving skills as well as spatial reasoning to solve challenges.
This STEM challenge integrates geometry and engineering concepts. Kids need to merge lines (straws) into triangles, and then after making triangles connect them to create a globe, all without being told how to do it!
Instructions
- Pinch the mouth of the straws to make them smaller and stuff them into another straw’s end.
- Do this with three straws and then connect them together to become a triangle.
- Take five of the triangles and unite them together to make a pentagon.
- You will need three of these straw pentagons along with seven additional triangles.
- Tape the pentagons together, and as you wrap them together, connect the missing sections with the remaining triangles.
More Fun and Educational Activities
If you are looking for additional activities like this, check out our book, 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever!
This is one of the activities in this book and there are 100 more!
More STEM Activities From Kids Activities Blog
Look at the other fun STEM activities we have here at Kids Activities Blog!
We can’t wait to see what your kids build with their imagination and a little STEM knowledge… What did your kids build?
