STEAM Saturday – Pool Noodle Structures! (6/22/2024)

Pool noodle STEAM - featured photo

This week’s heat wave has us thinking about cooling off in the pool!  Safety first… Have you stocked up on your pool noodles yet?  While you’re at the store (these fun floaties can usually be found at the dollar store), grab a couple of extra noodles to use for a fun engineering challenge when your child needs a break from splishing and splashing!

Pool noodles and toothpicksAll you need for this simple summer project is:

  • Pool noodles
  • Toothpicks
  • A Serrated Knife (for your use, of course)

Use your serrated knife to slice your pool noodles into discs.  You can also cut them in half to create differently-shaped pieces.  Another option is to vary the sizes of the pieces you cut to give your child a variety of building materials to choose from.

Challenge your child to build different structures with the noodles and toothpicks.  Some ideas might include:

  • Build the tallest structure you can without it falling over when shaken
  • Build the widest structure you can without it falling over
  • Build a bridge that can hold a book
  • Build a structure that will float in the pool
  • If your child is younger, have them use the larger pieces and/or the half noodles to build a boat that can float in the water

Pool noodle structures

You can even ask your child to come up with his or her own building challenge.  The sky is the limit for your pool noodle designs.

When you’re done building for the day, save your noodles pieces and toothpicks.  You can use them to help your future engineer hone his or her skills any time of year!

Check out the full activity from Little Bins for Little Hands HERE.

As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!

We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity!  Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!

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