"Helping Harry" STEM Challenge

One of my favorite ways to build classroom community at the beginning of the school year is the "Helping Harry" STEM Challenge.  I first learned about this STEM challenge from Meg on The Teacher Studio blog. Her idea was inspiring and I made some modifications to meet the needs of my students.  My students have completed this challenge the first week of school for the past two years and they really enjoy working together to create the tallest possible tower for their new friend “Harry.”

“Harry” is a character made out of a large pom-pom and googly eyes.  The mission of this STEM challenge is for students to work with a partner or a small group to create a tall, safe, and sturdy perch for Harry to sit on and watch them learn.

Materials

I put out a variety of materials for my students to use to make their towers.  You can really use any type of materials that you would like but some of my favorites are foil, pipe cleaners, muffin cups, paper towel rolls, and a variety of popsicle sticks.  Of course, I also provide large pom-poms and googly eyes for students to create their “Harry” characters.  I choose pom-poms to represent our school colors.  

Challenge Introduction

I introduce the project by telling students that Harry loves learning and enjoys watching students work hard and expand their knowledge.  I tell them that Harry is excited to see everything that they are going to work on in fourth grade but in order to see, he needs a perch to sit on that is tall enough to see the entire classroom and sturdy enough that he will not fall.  I show them some of the materials that they are going to be able to use and explain that they have until the end of the Science block to be creative and to make perches for Harry.  I ask students to find a partner or a small group to work with and help students form groups as necessary.

Challenge Completion

Before students start building, they work with their partner or small group to draw a design of their tower and make a list of the materials that they would like to use.  Once students complete their drawings, they explain their designs to me.  I have all of the materials on a table and they gather materials they would like to use along with scissors, glue, and tape.  Students have about twenty minutes to build their towers.

Wrap-Up

At the end of the block, students bring their models to the rug and each group presents their design and explains why their tower is going to be helpful for Harry.  Students enjoy having the opportunity to see their classmates’ creations.

I really like to complete this activity during the first week of school because it gives students the opportunity to work in a collaborative group to meet a shared goal.  It also gives me an opportunity to get to know my students as I walk around and ask each group questions about their thinking process during the activity.  I enjoy getting to see students’ creativity and have seen some amazing ideas over the years.  One of my favorites was a student who used multiple large and small pom-poms to make a whole family of “Harrys” to observe our classroom. 

This activity helps students get to know each other and is an exciting start to fourth grade.  Plus, students enjoy showing their projects to their families during Open House.  This is a project that students still talk about as one of the highlights of the year at the end of fourth grade and sets a very positive tone in the classroom to begin the year.