Building Bricks STEM Moon Base Engineering Design Challenge

Your students are planetary geologists on a mission to study the Moon. But how do they survive in that harsh environment? They must use the engineering design process to solve a problem from one of the 30 included challenge cards. Students are first tasked with constructing a lunar landscape (either using building bricks or paper) before using building bricks to build their design solutions.

This packet also includes handouts for students to learn about current missions to the Moon and how to survive there, a STEM career connection about planetary geologists, and a worksheet to walk students through the engineering design process. Assign your students one of the 30 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)