Mini Building Challenges

Easy Building Challenges for Kids

The reason I love building challenges truly lies in their simplicity. You don’t need specialized materials or intricate plans. Just gather up some everyday items from around the house or classroom, add some creativity, and you have a building challenge. I am going to outline some no prep challenges that encourage creative thinking and engineering skills, but you can take these and run with the concept and create any challenge you think fits!

Want more No Prep STEM? Try our No Prep Paper STEM Challenges.

What do I need to build with?

Truly you can build with just about anything if you think outside the box but some items I always have on hand and that I used today are:

• Keva Planks (I have this set in my classroom, but any size set is nice to have)
• Dominoes
• Linking Cubes
• Jenga Blocks
• Index Cards
• Disposable Cups

Plus, some other really hand supplies for mini building challenges are: LEGO, Magna-Tiles and cardboard boxes and tubes from the recycler.

Pro Tip! Plastic shoe boxes are perfect for storing almost all of these materials so they are there when you need them. Plus you can see into the boxes, when kids can see the materials they will often ask to do challenges because they are so much fun!

Once you have some supplies, it is time for some challenges!

Index Card Tower Challenge

All you need for this challenge is index cards in any size. Just index cards. No tape. No scissors. Nothing but cards.

The Challenge: Who can build the tallest structure in 20 minutes with only 25 index cards.

Seriously that is all it takes to send them off. It typically takes them a few minutes to get going, but once they do… watch out! So much fun and learning in one activity.

This activity teaches basic concepts of balance, structure, and gravity while keeping the setup minimal. You can even add a time limit to make the challenge more intense!

Cup Tower Challenge

This one is fun and all you need is a bunch of disposable cups in any size you want.

When working on the cup tower I like to make it a little extra. For example:

• you may only use one hand
• you must work with a partner but not talk
• make the tower linear
• make it circular
• use only “X” number of cups, etc.

It doesn’t have to be complicated to be amazing. Giving kids limitations will really get the problem solving juices flowing!

Building Challenge with KEVA Planks

Here are some challenges I have given my kids, which have been a huge success.

Build me a structure with a roof that I can drive a toy car into. This requires the kids to really think about how they are building so that their building stays up and strong while allowing a toy car to fit inside.

Build me a ramp that a ping pong ball can roll down, make a turn and then stop at the bottom. This multi step challenge requires that they think through all sorts of science concepts:

• Gravity pulls the ping pong ball down the ramp, causing it to roll and accelerate.
• Friction between the ramp’s surface and the ping pong ball will slow the ball down, especially as it makes the turn and heads toward stopping.
• Inertia is the property of the ball that keeps it moving until another force (like friction or a stopper) causes it to stop. This principle is essential for making the ball roll smoothly down the ramp. Extension Activity – Play even more with Inertia by making an Inertia Hat!
• When the ball makes the turn, centripetal force helps keep it on the path around the curve instead of flying off in a straight line. The tighter the curve, the more this force needs to keep the ball on course.
• Energy Transformation: Potential energy at the top of the ramp converts to kinetic energy as the ball rolls down. Understanding this transformation can help with designing ramps that slow the ball toward the end or keep it rolling fast.

Encouraging students to experiment with different ramp sizes, curves, and inclines will help them see how these forces interact and affect the ping pong ball’s motion!

Building with game pieces like Jenga or Dominos

This is a great challenge because it requires them to look at something they’ve used in a different way. Who can build the tallest tower only placing the pieces on end? How about only on their sides? Can you build a bridge that a toy car can fit under easily?

Or, add in some jumbo craft sticks and build a linear tower or bridge.

With pieces like this you can even have the kids make shapes and letters as practice in the classroom.

Or combine Building Challenges with Chain Reactions that get the kids really excited!

The Floor is Lava Inspired Challenge

Try a challenge inspired by the Floor is Lava. Using little manipulatives like these bears and frogs I had on hand challenge the kids, using only 4 little cups and 4 index cards, how many bears can you keep off the ground. I love watching the kids work this one out.

Linking Cubes Engineering Project

Have your kids build a structure with linking cubes. Typically used as math manipulatives these little blocks are awesome for building challenges. These give some unique opportunities because they are multicolored. You can add parameters like, make a dog house but make it in a checkerboard pattern. Or build a city where all of the buildings are a different color and have different sizes.