STEM / STEAM Projects #1 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Business)

Science - Paper Plane Challenge

Today, you are an Aeronautical Engineer conducting a study on plane designs. You'll be investigating factors that help airplanes stay lifted and reach their destination. Although you won't be designing an actual plane, you’ll be using the same concepts to build paper airplanes. Using only paper, tape,  and a pair of scissors, you'll be able to test which design features 

Technology/Art - Travel Brochure Design

You are a Travel Agent hired by a client to provide information about a specific international destination of your choosing. You must design a travel brochure for that destination that will both provide information about the culture, cuisine, and attractions and convince them that they simply have to go see it. You will be using an online design program called Canva to create your brochure.

Engineering - Rube Goldberg Machine

Today you are an engineer that has discovered a problem that can be solved with a simple (or not so simple) contraption. Your job is to design a machine that will perform a series of complex processes to complete the simple task of your choosing. Imagine you are sitting on the couch and want to turn on the tv without getting up. You reel in your fishing rod which tips a teapot and pours water into a bowl. The bowl fills, tipping a stick which tips a ball into another bowl. The weight of the ball lowers the bowl which lifts up the sheet and tips a cage. The cage drops an object that lands on a lever that releases and hits the “Power” button and the tv turns on. You have accomplished turning on the tv in a completely unnecessary and over-complicated way. 

Math - Dream Vacation

You and your family are going on vacation and your parents left it entirely up to you to plan! Using a budget of $10,000, you will create a 5 day, 4 night dream vacation for your family of 4 (two adults and two 10-14 year old kids). This project will require you to do internet research, allocate resources, and calculate the cost of the trip. You cannot go over budget but you can go under budget. You will use a Google Sheets template to keep track of your costs!

Business - Shark Tank

Today you are an entrepreneur Preparing to go on Shark Tank and pitch your new product to the Sharks. You need to create a unique product and a business proposal (Pitch) that will persuade the Sharks to invest in your business. As you create your project, think about the episode clips of Shark Tank from the previous pages. What products did the sharks invest in? What products did the sharks reject? Why? Keep that in mind as you plan.