STEM Challenge: Build Vana and Naosi a New House

Context for Challenge

Students will become imaginative architects and problem-solvers as they design and build a brand-new home for Vana and Naosi!

Their task? To create a house that meets one important requirement:

The penguin (represented by a paper cup) must be able to fit inside the house.

This challenge pushes students to think about structure, scale, and creativity, while also exploring how to adapt their designs to meet specific needs.

Materials

Set Up

1. Prepare Materials: Ensure you have all the necessary materials ready beforehand and organize them so that they are easily accessible to students. Students should use no more than three of any one material per creation! For example, a student can use five straws and five pieces of paper, but not ten straws. If you provide aluminum foil, no more than one arm’s length piece for each student!
2. Provide Guidelines and Constraints:

   Reiterate the rules:

   • The Emo-Meter must have four distinct zones: Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red
   • Each zone must be made from a different material
   • The Emo-Meter should be easy to read and clearly show the emotional “levels”
3. Model the Design Process: Before students begin, demonstrate the design process by going through the steps yourself. Discuss how to brainstorm ideas, create prototypes, test them, and make iterations based on the results, as needed.
4. Encourage Collaboration: Foster a collaborative environment where students can work together in pairs. Encourage them to share ideas, help each other troubleshoot challenges, and provide constructive feedback throughout the process. But no groups of three!
5. Support Adaptation: Encourage students to embrace the mindset of adaptation and problem-solving. Help them see that setbacks and failures are opportunities to learn and make improvements. Guide them in identifying areas for adaptation and brainstorming alternative solutions.
6. Facilitate Reflection: Set aside time for students to reflect on their design process and decision-making. Ask questions that prompt them to think critically about their choices, challenges they faced, and what they learned from the experience. Students can reflect individually, in pairs, or as a whole-class discussion.
7. Celebrate and Showcase: Celebrate students’ efforts and showcase their work.

CASEL Discussion Questions

Five questions aligned to Social Awareness and Relationship Skills