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!