Sink, Float or Flink

The Problem:

When STEM dog was at the beach, his balls would either float on top of the water or sink to the bottom of the ocean. He didn't like either option so he challenged the young engineers at Crossroads Elementary School to solve his problem.  

The Challenge:

Engineer an object that neither floats nor sinks. Instead it must flink, which is a combination of float and sink.

 After exploring the buoyancy of the individual materials, the students worked in collaborative teams to engineer something that would flink in the middle of their testing tub. The designs went through countless iterations, and eventually, some of these young engineers were successful in their endeavor. 

Developing a love for STEM!

The Pipe Cleaner Challenge

As an introduction to STEM, the fourth and fifth grade students were challenged to build the tallest free standing structure that they could using nothing other than 15 pipe cleaners. The students quickly discovered that team work and collaboration would be necessary to accomplish this task.  To represent a loss of manpower, the students were asked to spend the last five minutes of the challenge working with one hand behind their back. With only two minutes to go, these young engineers were informed that their company had been purchased and relocated to a foreign country. Since they could no longer speak the language of their new colleagues, they were now forced to find a way to communicate without talking. Despite all of the obstacles encountered, many teams were able to design a structure that could indeed stand on its own! Well done Engineers!

The Adventures of STEM Dog - Part 1

Welcome back to school my Crossroads Friends. I know that we are going to have a lot of fun with STEM this year.  I can't wait to tell you all about the incredible adventures I had over the summer.  I even made a movie to give you a little preview. I hope you are as excited for this year's STEM Dog challenges as I am!


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STEM Dog