Are you looking for easy STEM activities that promote critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and teamwork? Or are you looking to introduce your middle school STEM students to civil engineering concepts and careers? This space needle STEAM activity will do all that and more! Looking for more STEM Challenges? Click here to get activities for the whole year and SAVE! In this engineering activity, students can tackle NGSS engineering standards by designing and building a free-standing tower that can support the weight of a tennis ball in the top 25% of the structure. This week-long project is designed for upper elementary and middle school students. First, students will learn about skyscrapers and building stable structures. Next, they'll use the engineering design process to design and build a model space needle tower. Finally, students will test their structures with a tennis ball. With detailed teacher notes, engaging student worksheets, a lesson slideshow, a graphic organizer to guide research, a grading rubric, and end-of-project certificates included, you only need to make copies and grab materials from your cabinets to get started. Grab this activity today so you can take a break from planning and know your students will still be learning and having fun! This civil engineering STEM project includes Printable PDF, Google, and Easel versions of the student activity Detailed teacher notes to facilitate the lesson A slideshow to guide the engineering design process Research questions and suggested websites for students to discover the importance of renewable resources and wind energy An easy-to-use grading rubric End-of-challenge certificates Materials needed for the space needle project: Printed or digital copies of the student project packet A tennis ball for testing the towers A ruler or meter stick for measuring the height The rest of the building materials for this project are flexible. You can use whatever you have available, such as straws, index cards, tape, wooden craft sticks, clean recyclables, etc. What are other teachers saying? ★★★★★ "I appreciated all the background information and resources to help students understand the science behind the challenge." -Kristin, 6th Grade Teacher ★★★★★ "The students loved doing this! It was just the right amount of challenging!" -Erin, 5th Grade Teacher ★★★★★ "Absolutely fantastic. My students enjoyed this activity so much!! Thank you." -Steven, 8th Grade Teacher How can the space needle civil engineering STEM challenge be used in your classroom? Explore civil engineering concepts. Assess NGSS standards MS-ETS1-1 and MS-ETS1-2. Use the challenge to keep students on task when you have unusual schedules or low attendance due to field trips, testing, assemblies, or other interruptions. Give your students practice with problem-solving using the engineering design process. Introduce real-world STEM disciplines and professions. Allow students to develop their 21st-century skills, such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Assign the resource for extra credit, a holiday break packet, or an extension activity. Feedback Did you know you can earn credit towards future TPT purchases by leaving a review? If you download this product, please come back and leave a review on the product page or through “My Purchases” under “My Account” at TPT. Stay in Touch! If you have any questions about this product or my store, please email me (trilby@steminthemiddle.net). I’d love to hear from you! Follow me on TPT for news about sales, new resources, and updates.
