Stories & STEM ~ Rescue Me ~ 3 STEM Challenges using Parachutes

Read the short story and then complete a series of three related STEM engineering challenges. Includes vocabulary, clue cards and project sheets for a week of engineering fun!

The story, Rescue Me, focuses on the concepts of parachutes and flight

Can you make a paper parachute that can hold a payload of 20 ml of water?

The other two challenges included in this pack are focused on creating the slowest parachute and a parachute that can be controlled and they are completed once students have figured out the first challenge.

This engineering challenge activity pack is one of many that I have created to use in my classroom! My students really enjoy the idea of solving a problem or mystery when it is framed within a short background story. We do these challenges over the course of a week. Once students have figured out the first challenge, the other two are just manipulating the concept that was used previously. I use the clue cards as a way to give students hints, or help, as they progress through the challenges. You can pass them out to students one at a time, or even post them onto a bulletin board or on a projector. You can also post the vocabulary cards or print them out for students to use on their lab sheet. The solution sheets look great displayed and give students a chance to share their work with their classmates!

Encourage students to really think about the data they should be recording for each challenge.