Valentine's Day Candy Grabber STEM Challenge
This engineering design challenge is perfect for a fun and educational STEM Valentine's Day challenge! Students will design and build a device that uses the power of levers to pick up candy from a distance.
Grades: 5th - 9th
Teaching Duration: 3 hours
“This activity was fantastic!! Of course, candy is a great motivator. But the designs were all creative and unique. The students were very engaged! ”
lesson overview
Valentine's Day STEM Activity - updated with digital STEM journals!
This engineering design challenge is perfect for a fun and educational STEM Valentine's Day challenge! Students will design and build a device that uses the power of levers to pick up candy from a distance.
Supports Distance Learning: Editable Google Slides for a digital STEM Journal
Science background: Students first learn about levers to apply the knowledge to create their candy grabber device.
Engineering Challenge: Oh no! The machinery at the local candy factory broke down, spilling delicious candies in a huge pile on the floor. To avoid contamination, workers are not allowed to pick up the candy by hand. Using common materials such as cardboard, string, and tape, students create a candy grabber to move the spill candy into a container. A full teacher guide includes links to videos, photos of student projects, and resources. The packet also include handouts to guide your students through the engineering design process to solve the challenge.
STEM Real-World Connections: The challenge describes the work of a prosthetist.
As with many STEM activities that are student-driven, this challenge can be tailored to students of various skill levels and abilities.
Included in this product:
Detailed teachers guide with links to resources
Grading rubric for the engineering design process
STEM Career Connections
STEM Real-world Connection
Student handouts to guide them through the engineering design process
Editable Google Slides for a STEM Journal
Math extension problems including areas, percentages, and graphing (With an answer key) in both customary and metric units
Looking for more STEM lessons? Find the Vivify resource guide here: bit.ly/VivifyResourceGuide
