STEM Activity Challenge Spaghetti Tower (Middle School)

STEM Project for Middle School—6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

In this activity, students will work in groups to build the tallest structure possible from mini marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti noodles. Not only will the students learn the importance of working together as a team, but they will discover what shapes they need to make their tower strong.

***If you are interested in a differentiated version of this resource for grades K-8, please click here.

This STEM Activity Challenge includes teacher instructions, student instructions (worksheet), grading rubrics, a demonstration video for the teacher, a materials needed sheet, and the related NGSS standards!

In the teacher demonstration video, I give you an overview of the activity challenge, talk about the materials involved and where to get them, demonstrate how to set up the challenge for the students, and discuss the science involved. Teachers have found these videos to be very helpful by showing them step-by-step how to run the activity and giving them a better understanding of the science behind it.

This activity will challenge students to work together in groups to complete the given task. These activities are fun, engaging, and the students will learn science in the process. Group work and problem-solving are at the heart of these STEM / STEAM challenges.

Each activity challenge will end with a real-world research question, video, or activity. It is usually an extension of what the students just discovered and learned. The students will be involved, excited, and looking forward to future activity challenges in your classroom.

You can customize the text in the Worksheets, Grading Rubrics, Materials Lists, and Teacher Instructions to suit your class! A link on the materials list page will take you to the Google Slides file. It's super-easy.

******PLEASE NOTE: This product is very similar to the 3-5th grade version. Please don't buy both. Feel free to email me, sciencedemoguy@gmail.com with any questions. Thanks!

Save Money, buy a bundle!!! This activity is also available as part of one of my 16 packs or the "STEM for the whole year 36 Pack"! Click on the links below to check it out!!

MEGA Pack ---> "STEM for the Whole Year" Bundle: 36 Pack

STEM 16 Pack #1 for 6-8

STEM 16 Pack #2 for 6-8

*****Materials List*****

Please feel free to email me for a preview of the materials list for this activity! ScienceDemoGuy@gmail.com

This activity addresses the following Next Generation Science Standards - NGSS

MS-ETS1-2

MS-ETS1-3

MS-PS2-2

MS-PS2-4

MS-PS2-5

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Third, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I love science and I love helping teachers bring more “hands-on” science into their classrooms. I can be reached at sciencedemoguy@gmail.com and am usually very quick to respond.

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Tags: STEM lesson plan, elementary science, elementary math, engineering labs, technology labs, engineering labs, science labs, stem labs, sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade