STEAM Challenge Pumpkins

First-grade students were put to the test in a seasonal STEAM Challenge! With a limited set of materials, students designed and constructed their own unique pumpkins.

Their supplies included only two empty yogurt cups, orange painter’s tape, construction paper, and pipe cleaners. After putting their ideas down on paper—carefully drawing and labeling the creations they hoped to bring to life—they quickly realized the project’s limitations given their set of materials.

“In some cases, students could not execute what they had originally planned on paper with the fixed materials they had. They quickly realized that trial-and-error was all part of the process, and learned how to adapt and make changes as they worked,” said First Grade Homeroom Teacher Christa Nees.

Though each student started in the same place, with the same supplies—thirty-seven unique pumpkins came to life in the first-grade homerooms in a fun combination of engineering, design, and fall flair!