Building Bricks STEM Biomes and Habitats Engineering Design Challenge
Your students are terrestrial ecologists working to investigate and conserve animal habitats. They must first build a landscape of a biome (temperate forest, rainforest, freshwater, ocean, grasslands, desert, tundra, or taiga). Then they will use the engineering design process to solve a problem from one of the 64 included challenge cards.
Grades: 1st - 6th
Teaching Duration: 1 hour
“These look super fun ... a Lego build is good exercise for the brain. I just missed the campus science night where I planned to use them. Always next year!”
lesson overview
Your students are terrestrial ecologists working to investigate and conserve animal habitats. They must first build a landscape of a biome (temperate forest, rainforest, freshwater, ocean, grasslands, desert, tundra, or taiga). Then they will use the engineering design process to solve a problem from one of the 64 included challenge cards. Can they make a trap to catch poachers? Can they help an okapi reach its food, or build a shelter to protect an animal from its predator? There is much to learn about biomes and animal habitats while constructing design solutions!
This packet also includes handouts for students to learn about biomes, ecosystems, and habitats, a STEM career connection about terrestrial ecologists, and a worksheet to walk students through the engineering design process. Assign your students one of the 64 challenge or task cards and teach them to use the engineering design process to think through their design before building their solutions.
This activity works well as an introduction to the engineering design process, an in-class or virtual lesson, or in centers or a makerspace.
Materials needed:
Building bricks
Paper plates or building brick base plates
Construction paper (optional)
Looking for more STEM lessons? Find the Vivify resource guide here: bit.ly/VivifyResourceGuide
