Paper Bridges STEM Activity

Bridges come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. What makes a bridge the strongest? Find out in this fun activity as you build simple bridges with paper and test to see how much weight they can hold. Read more

Kick off the new school year with one of these STEM activities! Easy to plan, low-cost, and accessible to all grade levels, these icebreakers set the stage for a great school year. Students will get to know one another, maybe remember your name, and leave class thinking it was a lot of fun! It's back-to-school time! This means a brand new year, maybe a brand new group of students, or even a new grade level. The first few days are often spent settling… Read more

Teach students to think like engineers with fun hands-on building and design challenges. Spark interest and build confidence with one of these free engineering challenges for elementary school students. 12 Engineering Challenges to Inspire Elementary School Students! Engineering design challenges are a great way to ignite student interest in STEM. When students tackle an engineering design challenge, they are encouraged to brainstorm, design, build,… Read more

Your students have probably walked or ridden over a bridge at some point in their lives. In this engineering activity they will design and make bridges out of folded pieces of paper, and test how much weight they can hold with pennies. How does the shape of a bridge affect its strength? Let your students explore and find out with this lesson! This lesson can be expanded to a second lesson looking at how the material a bridge is made out of can change its strength; see second lesson for details. Read more

Steel, concrete, wood—real bridges are built from many different materials. How do engineers decide which materials to use? In this activity, your students will expand on the previous paper bridges lesson plan by building and testing bridges made from different materials. Read more