Towers are a great STEM activity to promote collaboration, teamwork, communication, and problem solving. This challenge lays a critical foundation for more intensive STEM challenges. Working as a team, they will learn lessons in communication, innovation, hidden assumptions, and creativity that are central to the engineering process.

Click here for an editable STEM journal to use with distance learning, including digital and printable versions.

These activities take no more than 20 minutes as they are meant to be conducted in a set time limit. Use these activities as a warm-up or icebreaker, team building activity, or introduction to the world of engineering!

Activities are low-prep and low-cost! Materials needed for all challenges are pipe cleaners, cups, rubber bands, string, spaghetti, index cards, balloons, and tape

In this packet

• Pipe cleaner Tower Challenge: Using only pipe cleaners, student teams will build the tallest, freestanding tower. However, there will be some unexpected constraints along the way!

• Stack the Cups Challenge: Perfect for teams struggling with communication. Teams will build a tower of cups without touching them! Requires all members to participate.

• Additional Tower Challenges: Want more towers? Instructions provided on how to implement tower challenges with index cards, spaghetti, and more!

• Student Packet: A student packet is included to guide students through the engineering design process with the tower activities.

**Purchase the bundle for 20% discount: 12 STEM Icebreaker Challenges

Materials:

• 15 Pipecleaners
• 6 Plastic Cups
• 1 thick rubber band
• 4, 2 ft pieces of string
• Index Cards
• Balloons
• 20 pieces spaghetti
• 1 yd masking tape
• 1 jumbo marshmallow
• 1 yd string