Welcome to fall, y’all! Autumn is a season for chillier weather, changing leaves, and delicious apples. If you’ve got some apples at home just waiting for those fall recipes, then you’ve got the main ingredient in an awesome September STEAM engineering challenge!
As always, before launching into hands-on learning, we recommend gaining some inspiration from a good book. Our September recommendation is Iggy Peck, Architect, by Andrea Beaty. Iggy loves to build! His parents are proud of his creations, though they are sometimes surprised by the materials he uses (including dirty diapers). Iggy’s 2nd grade teacher declares her dislike for architecture, but Iggy’s passion is too strong for him to give it up!
Now that you’ve finished reading, it’s time to take Iggy’s inventive inspiration and channel it into your own building. Using only straws and masking tape, challenge your future engineer to construct a tower that will hold an apple at the top for at least ten seconds.
The tower should have a strong base, vertical supports, and a cradle at the top to hold the apple. Ask your child to brainstorm and plan out his/her design first. After building, it’s time to test the tower by gently placing the apple on top. Are there any weak points that need reinforcement? Do any changes need to be made to the design? Make sure to strengthen the design before the final official test. Does your apple stay aloft for the full ten seconds or longer?
Click here to download the full Apple Tower STEAM activity instructions.
As always, be as creative as you want, and have lots of fun learning together!