Roller Coaster STEM Activity: Middle School Engineering Design
Students design and build a fun and safe ride while learning about kinetic and potential energy!
Grades: 5th - 8th
Teaching Duration: 2 days
“My students used this resource to guide themselves while working on a STEM project. Students were challenged to create their own rollercoaster! Amazing resource. ”
lesson overview
Roller Coaster Middle School Engineering Design STEM Activity: Students design and build a fun and safe ride while learning about kinetic and potential energy! This engaging activity is perfect for middle school classrooms and includes an instructional video with real-world connections and science concepts!
Included in this product:
Detailed teacher guide with links to resources
Instructional video - great for distance learning or support in the classroom!
Teacher instructional slides
Editable student handouts: digital and printed versions
STEM Career Connections
Real-world STEM history and science handouts
Math extensions problems (calculating average speed)
Peer feedback and reflection pages
In this activity, students will:
Learn about an engineering problem they need to solve.
Connect the problem to STEM careers and a real-world event.
Gather materials and brainstorm ideas.
Draw a design idea.
Build and test their device. Students will keep making changes and improving their design.
Share their final design.
Materials for Challenge:
Scissors
Tape
Ping pong ball for testing
Materials for a track such as paper, newspaper, construction paper, cardboard (cereal boxes, tissues boxes, etc), paper plates, and toilet paper rolls.
Materials for a support structure such as cereal boxes, rolled paper (newspaper, construction paper, magazines), or even a chair will work
Looking for more STEM lessons? Find the Vivify resource guide here: bit.ly/VivifyResourceGuide
