What do you want to make? The Random Materials Build Challenge

Students in the After School Program are regular users of the STEAM Lab. We often do Snap Circuits or play around with our set of 3Doodler pens, but sometimes students just want to mess around with materials. On days like this, we engage in a RMBC - Random Materials Building Challenge. This kind of activity promotes divergent and creative thinking, problem solving, and engagement - rarely do I have students off task when we're doing a challenge.




Each student (or team, if working with teams) starts with the same set of randomly selected materials gleaned from the recycle piles in the STEAM Lab. It could four drinking straws, a 5" length of twine, a small cardboard box, and a marble. Add some basic adhesive like tape, and go for it. 

You can set a competition framework - provide an objective and award points based on achieving it, or creativity, etc - or a more open ended project (invent something!), and see what happens. 

These are endlessly scalable, able to be differentiated for a variety of age groups, skill levels, objectives... You can allow students to trade materials with each other, or add in a "bonus ingredient" halfway through the allotted time... however you set it up, the big thing is to provide an open space for students to explore and create something neat.