If you’re looking for paper STEM challenges, you’ll love these ideas.
They use the engineering design process, and your students will love them.
And the best part is, they don’t require any special supplies.
If you’re in a rush and you’re looking for ready-to-go resources, I have 5 paper STEM challenges here that are low to no prep!
➡️ You’ll love this bundle of 5 paper STEM challenges.
Table of Contents
Why Every Teacher Should Lead Paper STEM Challenges
Hosting STEM challenges can be hard on its own – especially if you’re new to it.
But when you have a tight budget and a tight schedule? It can seem near impossible.
That’s why I’m so passionate about creating paper STEM challenges for teachers.
When you need to make every penny count, you don’t need to be scouring the internet and local stores for specific supplies.
And when you need to make every minute count, you can’t waste time looking for a special kind of rubber band.
With paper STEM challenges, they usually only require paper, tape, and scissors.
So there’s no need to dip into our own pockets, or spend precious time hunting things down.
What’s even better is that these challenges are quick to set up, and easy to integrate into your existing lessons.
3D Paper Name Tag STEM Challenge
With the Paper Name Tag STEM Challenge, your students get to design and create their very own name tag to proudly display on their desks. This is a great back to school activity, or something you can have your students do during the first week of school.
Your students will be fully engaged in a task that uses only materials you already have on hand – like paper and some crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
Even though it’s simple, it’s designed to be rigorous.
You’ll guide your students through the engineering design process as they collaborate, observe, record, and reflect on their work.
They’ll be tasked with building a name tag that not only displays their name but also stands up on its own.
At the end of the challenge, students will present their creations.
They’ll also take a look at their classmates’ designs, and think critically about what they’ve learned and how they would improve the design if they were going to make another.
This creates an open loop, too!
In the future, if you find yourself with some free time, you could have them reference their findings from the first challenge – then use that data to create another 3D paper name tag.
➡️ Click here to learn more about this 3D name tag paper STEM challenge
And if you want an even better deal?
➡️ You can save on all five paper stem challenges when you buy the bundle.
Paper Airplane STEM Challenge
Students always look forward to the paper airplane STEM challenge!
It’s one of those activities that’s easy to set up and packed with value.
In less than an hour, your students will be designing and creating their own paper airplanes – all while using materials you already have in your classroom.
It’s the perfect way to sneak in some serious learning without adding more to your already full plate.
What makes this challenge so effective is that it’s more than just folding paper.
It’s a full-on engineering experience.
Your students will follow the engineering design process – collaborating with their classmates, observing how different designs perform, and recording their results.
They’ll work to create a paper airplane that can hit a target from a specific distance, testing and tweaking their designs along the way.
By the end of the challenge, they’ll have the chance to compare their results, analyze what worked (and what didn’t), and reflect on the entire process.
➡️ Click here for a ready-to-go paper airplane STEM challenge.
The bundle is an even better deal!
➡️ You can save on all five paper stem challenges when you get the bundle.
Paper Chain STEM Challenge
The Paper Chain STEM Challenge is a straightforward yet impactful activity.
And if you happen to be reading this during the back to school season, or before going on a school break, it’s a great way to get students back into the groove of working with other students after being out for a while.
In this challenge, students will team up to design and construct their paper chains using only paper and tape.
They’ll strategize, problem-solve, and experiment with different approaches to see which design yields the longest chain.
By the end of the challenge, the room will be filled with colorful, creative paper chains – which is a great way to decorate the classroom quickly!
Everything you need is included in this resource – detailed teacher directions, a 20-point rubric and a STEM Challenge journal booklet. Your students will love it!
➡️ You can grab the paper chain STEM activity by clicking here.
Or if you’re looking to save money?
➡️ Click here to get all 5 paper stem challenge in this bundle.
Paper Column STEM Challenge
This paper STEM challenge gives your students the chance to build, test, and compare the strength of three different types of paper columns.
It’s a perfect way to introduce or revisit the engineering design process, and you can easily connect this to real life by sharing about buildings they’d see around the world – or in daily life.
In this challenge, students works in groups to construct each type of column (square, triangular, and round), using just paper and tape.
Once their columns are ready, they’ll test the strength of their creations by stacking textbooks on top. They’ll stack books one by one, until the columns finally give way.
It’s a very lively activity, and the students will have fun testing their hypotheses!
After the testing phase, students will share their findings with the class.
This activity comes with everything you need except the paper, which you have in your class!
➡️ Click here to get the paper column STEM challenge.
Or if you need more than one paper STEM challenge?
➡️ Click here to get all 5 paper stem challenge in this bundle
Paper Team Tower Challenge
This is another great activity for the first days of school, though it will be a hit any time of the year.
The Team Building Tower Challenge can really help your students connect from day one, or it can be a great activity during a week coming back from a break.
Students will work in groups to build a “Team Tower” using nothing but index cards, tape, scissors, and a cardstock base.
But there’s a twist!
Every tower tells a story.
Each student will design their own card, displaying their name and a few of their favorite things, which the team will then incorporate into their structure.
As they build, students will get to know one another, sharing interests and working together through the engineering design process.
PRO TIP – if you’re not doing this challenge at the beginning of the school year, or right after a school break, you can instead integrate an ELA concept here and make this an interdisciplinary activity!
By the end of the challenge, your classroom will be filled with towers that are as unique as the students who built them.
After the building is done, students will reflect on the process.
They’ll share what worked, discuss what didn’t, and brainstorm ideas for improving the design during the next round.
Everything you need to get started is included.
➡️ Click here to grab the team tower STEM challenge.
Need more than one paper STEM challenge?
➡️ Click here to get all 5 paper stem challenge in this bundle
Tips for Leading STEM Challenges
STEM challenges aren’t just for STEM and steam teachers!
And you can absolutely integrate them into your daily classroom routine.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Keep It Simple
One of the biggest advantages of paper STEM challenges is that they don’t require a lot of materials, so lean into that simplicity.
Gather everything you need ahead of time – and if you can set aside a STEM supply station in your classroom (so that you don’t have to worry about prep in the future), even better.
The less time spent hunting for materials, the more fun they’ll be!
2. Set Clear Expectations
You and your students will experience the most success when you can clearly explain the challenge, and the criteria for the output of the challenge.
Whether you’re building paper towers, testing paper columns, or crafting paper airplanes, it’s important that your students understand the goals – and that they understand how to follow the engineering design process.
Of course, this will take time and practice!
3. Build In Time for Discussion and Reflection
After the challenge is done, give your students a chance to share their results, talk about what they learned, and reflect on what they might do differently next time.
This step is important because this is what makes the learning stick.
Encourage students to think critically about their designs and to celebrate both successes and lessons learned from setbacks.
Get Started With Paper STEM Challenges
Hopefully, you feel encouraged and empowered to get started with paper STEM challenges.
If the idea of creating your own instructions and recording sheets makes this overwhelming, I’d love to help you!
➡️ Click here to learn more about my paper STEM challenge bundle.
Isn’t learning fun?
Looking for more STEM Challenge activities? Read more:
5 Tips for Using STEM Challenges in Your Classroom