Students worked in small groups to build a straw roller coaster for a ping pong ball using straws, hot glue, tape, and a piece of cardboard for a base. |
Everyone had a great time creating a path for their ball. Each track has sets of two straws that hold the ball as it rolls. |
This was a great project for small groups. It was helpful to have classmates hold the straws in place in order to make this STEM challenge a success. |
Straws were cut into smaller pieces to help support the vertical straws that hold up the track. |
Everyone was able to create a strong, sturdy track with ramps and turns that allowed the ping pong ball to roll down to the bottom and land in a bowl or a plastic lid. |
Every group had to experiment with each section before gluing it to make sure it was going to work. |
Students chose to start building at the top and worked their way down to the bottom and discovered that this worked well. |