Today we started our winter adventure of girls STEM club. I was happy to have two of my girls return, plus I have two new faces. My daughter Addison joined in on the fun, too.
What a sweet group of girls!
Our first STEM task was based on the beloved fairy tail of the three little pigs. We read the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (as told by the wolf). I told them their first task was to design the house for the first little pig.
If the house could withstand the huffing of “The Big Bad Wolf” (my hair dryer), then the little pig is in luck! He lives! yay! They had to make their straw homes out of spaghetti and marshmallows. We began by talking about durability. The girls knew exactly what to do.
They first had to design their house on a white board. I was impressed to see two girls start drawing their houses in 3d. We did not talk about shapes at first, because I wanted to see what they would come up with on their own. after the first drawings were done, we talked about how homes are not flat but are 3d. We took some time out to look at some common shapes.
Madison started on a pyramid and Addy and Anika went with a cube.
Ali started with a cube as well, but her plan was to use more spaghetti. She was hoping it would be more durable. Elizabeth made a three dimensional trapezoid.
Anika’s cube sure looked good, but it wouldn’t even stand alone. She knew she had to redesign her house. She is a true engineer! Ali tried her house again, too.
Anika’s second house was much more stable. It was a shape I do not even know the name of. I would call it a octagon pyramid. (I think I may have to look that one up!)
Now that they had shapes in mind, the girls couldn’t wait to build. Here is what they did:
When they were finished, the durability test was done. Each girl had a chance to be the Big Bad Wolf and see if their home was sturdy and would not blow down.
All girls had success. Our pigs live to go another day! Next week we will be using sticks and bricks!
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