Halloween means pumpkins galore, and we’ve got the perfect STEAM activity to do with YOUR little pumpkin! You’ll have to put on your engineering caps to figure out a solution to this challenge! As always, before your STEAM activity, “carve” out some time to read a book together! Pumpkin Town, by Katie McKy, is our “pick of the patch” this month. José and his brothers cause an accidental overabundance of pumpkins in their hometown when they toss out their seeds on a windy day. Join the brothers on their journey to clean up their town!
Now that you’ve had some “gourd” inspiration, it’s time to test your problem solving skills. Grab a pumpkin and some thick string or twine. Challenge your child to engineer a way to transport your pumpkin across the room (or down the sidewalk, etc.) using ONLY the string. How can the string be fastened around the pumpkin securely so that it can withstand the weight without breaking? Before testing the transport method, have your child estimate how far he or she thinks the pumpkin will travel. Measure the distance. Did the pumpkin make it as far as anticipated? If not, what changes can be made to the method of transport to increase the distance?
As always, be as creative as you want, and have lots of fun learning together!