This maze building STEM challenge is an excellent engineering activity for middle school students to practice using the engineering design process. Students will engage in hands-on, project-based learning that enables them to make real world connections. As a teacher, you will love the low prep activity and detailed teacher guide including differentiation ideas and suggested responses. 

In this 3 hour STEM Activity, students will work in groups to design and assess a number of prototype mazes including drawing a scale model for testing purposes before building their best design for a functional 3D tilting marble maze.

Beginning with an engaging whole group activity discussing maze design principles and how mazes are used in real life, students will then split into groups of 2-5 people to work their way through the engineering process while attempting to build an effective marble maze. In the design prototyping stage, students will practice drawing scaled down prototypes to test proof of concept before moving on to building their design. Additionally there are worksheets provided to guide them through the Engineering Design Process to help them design and build their maze while working as a team. At the end of the lesson, students will reflect on their experiences and optionally share with the class.

By the end of this lesson students will be able to:

→ Evaluate the effectiveness of an engineered product.

→ Negotiate criteria for success including difficulty level, time to completion, and level of creativity.

→ Explore properties and construction relationships of an engineered product, considering aspects such as slope, path width, and the effects of gravity.

→ Represent & communicate design ideas through scale drawing and prototyping.

→ Demonstrate safe, responsible and cooperative work practices

→ Interpret and apply statistical data collected during the maze testing phase, including metrics like time to completion, number of errors, and path efficiency.

→ Discuss and articulate how the design and construction process relates to real-world situations, such as urban planning, engineering, and game design.

In this resource:

→ 12 page Teacher Guide with Common Core Mathematics, Next Generation Science Standards & Australian curriculum alignment

→ 3 Printable Student Worksheets following the Engineering Process

→ 2 Google Forms for digital student work following the Engineering Process

→ Editable Slide Deck with detailed student instructions, and questions from the engineering process worksheets. Provided in both Google Slides and PowerPoint formats.

→ Digital Ready Links Document with instructions for saving the Google apps elements and assigning them to your students.

→ Resource Package Labels with instructions for prepping ahead or sending home materials.

→ BONUS! Real World Connections research task for advanced learners, fast finishers or the whole class to extend their learning and create meaningful connections to the real world.

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