Looking for back to school STEM activities for the first week of school that combine hands-on engineering with critical thinking and team-building? The Apples Afar Cantilever STEM Challenge is a student favorite for the first day of school or fall-themed science units. This collaborative activity tasks students with designing and building a cantilever to suspend an apple as far from the edge of a desk as possible. It’s an engaging way to introduce the engineering design process, encourage