Under construction 2/14/15

On Friday afternoons, we have an activity period from 1:55 to 2:55 pm. Students pick from about 12 different activities and each activity is for half a year (about 8 sessions), and then kids switch to a new activity.

The activity I run is based on the old TV Show “Junkyard Wars” (link). Students are given challenges and compete either as individuals or in small groups. They do not know what the challenge is until they show up for class.

For more great ideas, visit “Junkbox Wars” (link)

Below are some of the challenges we have worked on:

1. Barbie Bungee Jump
   • Using only rubber bands, have your Barbie bungee jump from the 2nd floor landing in the stairwell
   • Closest to the ground, without hitting, wins
2. Paper Airplane 
   • Using only 1 sheet of newspaper, who can fly their airplane the furthest across the Dining Hall?
3. Newspaper Tower
   • Using only 3 sheets of newspaper, scissors, and 5 pieces of tape, create the tallest freestanding tower, must stand for 30 seconds.
4. Parachute Drop
   • Using only 5 plastic supermarket bags, rubber bands, and scissors, and a few old Kids K’Nex pieces as your jumper, design a parachute that will have the slowest drop (3rd floor landing in stairwell) and earn points for accuracy, too.
5. Create a catapult out of popsicle sticks and rubber bands.
   • Use cotton balls during the testing phase
   • During the competition students used pennies and earned points for distance and accuracy.
6. Balloon Powered Lego Car
   • Race down the hallway and earn points for speed and distance
7. Lego Car Ramp
   • Create a car that will travel the furthest down the hallway after rolling down a ramp
8. Lego Zip Line
   • Create a carrier out of Legos (6 in x 6 in max) that will hold 10 pennies and travel across the science room, points for speed and distance
9. Pasta Tower (haven’t tried yet)
   • Using spaghetti and mini marshmallows, create the tallest free standing tower
10. Rubber Band Car (haven’t tried yet)