The Most Popular Easy Prep Challenges featuring Cardboard
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Let’s talk about easy preparation and a free material! I have resources to share and tips about using cardboard!
Think about it- Cardboard is free. Every package you receive is in a box. Items you purchase come in boxes. Even better, this is true of the parents of your students, and they will send their boxes to you!
I promise you will have more cardboard than you will ever use! You just need the perfect projects!
“In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that Amazon will pass on small percentages to me with your purchase of items. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running!“
The Nitty Gritty about Cardboard!
This simple material is so versatile. It comes in different thicknesses, is easy to use, and can be the featured material for so many projects (we will get to that later!)
WAYS TO MAKE USE OF CARDBOARD
- Leave boxes intact and have students choose a box needed for a project.
- Cut boxes apart and store the pieces in large bins. I have bins with similar-sized pieces and display these when students choose their materials. Teams will choose the perfect piece for their designs.
- Cardboard tubes are also perfect for STEM projects. (Check the link on this page to a blog post about this!)
- Ask parents to send in boxes. You will get tons. Break the boxes down and store them flat.
- Use razor blade knives to cut pieces quickly. Be sure to put a mat under them to avoid cutting your tables.
- Students can cut most cardboard with scissors. You can also purchase special cardboard cutting tools.
- The perfect cardboard for wheels is the box that soft drinks come in. These are called ‘flats’ and they will already have circles indented in the box. Cut on the circles to make wheels!
Cardboard Project #1 – Suspension Bridges
The Suspension Bridge Project is a perfect one for cardboard use. We use a long strip for the roadway that forms the bridge. Underneath is a large piece of foamboard or heavyweight cardboard.
The challenge is to build a bridge model that resembles a suspension-type bridge with end points and cables to hold up the roadway.
SOME TIPS:
Cut lengths of cardboard in longer lengths, but not too long! Students will think the bridge must be super long, and this makes the challenge more difficult. Find pliable cardboard because you must make holes through it to hold the ‘cable.’ We typically do this with a compass and then widen the holes with a pencil point.
One more way to get cardboard: Ask your cafeteria! They receive supplies in large boxes!
Cardboard Project #2 – Robotic Hands
The Robotic Hand Project is another that works perfectly with pliable cardboard. The cardboard needs to be easily bent so the fingers of the hand will work.
Students will trace their own hands to form the model and then attach straws and strings to make the fingers move. It’s a fantastic way to learn more about how tendons and ligaments work with the bones.
SOME TIPS:
We use straws to attach the strings. It’s a great time to bring out pieces I have saved. For every project I save scraps to reuse later!
Cardboard Project #3 – Platform Towers
This is one of my favorite STEM Challenges! It’s a perfect Team Building activity.
Here is how it works. Every team builds the bottom section of the Platform Tower. Then, every team rotates to a new table, and they build the second section of the tower. However, a different team built the bottom. Then, they rotate again. This continues until the tower is built. The discussion when it is over is priceless.
Everyone agrees that using materials well is paramount to the success of this tower.
SOME TIPS: This activity needs smaller pieces of cardboard. I save scraps of everything and bring those scrap bins out for challenges that need them!
Cardboard Project #4 – Earthquake Structures
The Earthquake Structures activity requires teams to build a 3-story building that can be shaken to simulate a mild earthquake. We use cardboard for the houses.
This is another time to bring out scraps and allow teams to choose their own cardboard pieces to work with their design. We use a variety of materials to hold the layers of the structures together. The cardboard needs to be lightweight and teams may need to make holes in it.
SOME TIPS: When we finish this challenge, we save the cardboard. Even pieces with bent sections or holes can be reused eventually!
Cardboard Project #5 – Elevators!
The Elevator STEM Challenge uses two types of cardboard- flat pieces and tubes. Yes, you need a huge bin of cardboard tubes. They are quite versatile. In this challenge teams must build an elevator mechanism that will lift a box. The elevator must rise when a crank is turned.
We use this challenge during the Halloween season, and students lift a tiny pumpkin. You can try it at any time of year- change the item being lifted!
SOME TIPS: We have tried this challenge using a cardboard box as the elevator shaft, but we have also found that using the edge of our worktable to suspend the passenger car works well, too. (Tip: It’s also easier!)
Start collecting cardboard now! Ask parents for donations, check your cafeteria, and save the boxes you get in the mail. Cardboard is a perfect STEM material.
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