Here is a engineering challenge that is great for during the fall. It can be modified for anytime of the year by using something other than a pumpkin.
Students use index cards to create the tallest tower they can that can hold a mini pumpkin. The rules are that they must keep the folded cards folded and the flat cards flat. Once they have a tall tower, they carefully place the mini pumpkin on top and see if it can support the weight. If not, they have to change their design.
Optionally, one mini spaghetti squash that has a narrower base and is a little heavier, can be used to try on towers that could hold the pumpkin. At the end of the challenge, two groups could combine their cards to see how tall they could build. Students are divided into groups of 2-3 students per group.
Materials
- flat index cards (24 flat and 24 folded short wise per group)
- mini pumpkins (1 per table)
- 1 mini spaghetti squash (optional)