Fun Thanksgiving STEM Challenge

How far can you toss a turkey? Have some fun this Thanksgiving with this Thanksgiving STEM Challenge that kids are sure to love. Embrace the excitement of the holiday and mix in hands-on learning with this Thanksgiving themed STEM activity.

STEM activities are a great way to spark a love of learning, specifically in science, technology, engineering and math. These subject areas include core skills that are increasing in importance in education. When creating and building with STEM challenges children’s imaginations have no limit!

This STEM challenge is perfect for the classroom in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving or even used to keep kids entertained during a Thanksgiving party.

Print the free activity card and turkey toss images at the bottom of the post and make preparing your challenge easy and inexpensive.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge shows a pinterest pin.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge Materials

There are only a few materials you need for this STEM challenge and if you work with kids, you may already have them on hand. You will need:

  • Turkey Toss Activity Card (Free!)
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Elastics x3
  • Popsicle Sticks or Tongue Depressors (x approximately 10)
  • Turkey Toss Turkey Image
  • Coin, Pompom, Bottle Cap
Thanksgiving STEM activity shows materials needed for a STEM challenge.

You will need the materials listed above for each group. If you are creating in the classroom, make sure to provide the materials for each child or group of children.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge shows four printable pages for a holiday activity.

Most of the materials will simply be given to children, but you will need to create the turkey to toss ahead of time. Print and cut out as many of the Turkey Toss circles as you need (a few for each group). Secure the image to a pompom (using hot glue) a coin or anything light that you have on hand, even a bottle cap will work.

Once you have all of your materials, you’re ready to begin!

Thanksgiving STEM Activity Card

Depending on your group of children, you can print the activity card and post on a wall or the table where children will create. This will help older children to work fairly independently.

Building activity for kids shows an activity card that says, "Turkey Toss, use the materials to create a catapult.

The challenge is for children to play around with the materials to create a catapult. You can show children images of catapults for them to replicate, or the image of the one I created below.

If you have older children doing the challenge, encourage them to try different strategies until they are successful. (You can choose to not show them images of catapults and have them figure out the design).

The challenge is to create a catapult that will work to toss the turkey image/coin as far as possible.

Holiday Activity – Set Up

Once you have told children the challenge, they can begin creating. Part of a STEM challenge is for children to make mistakes and change their design after testing. This helps make the best catapult possible.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge shows a stack of popsicle sticks secured with elastics and another large green popsicle stick.

Part of the challenge, and the fun is creating a catapult that will make the turkey coin fly the furthest. Encourage children to experiment where they place the one popsicle stick that sticks through the stack. If you put it in the middle does it make the turkey coin fly further? If you push it almost all the way through what affect does it have on the coin?

What happens if you only use half of the popsicle sticks to create your stack for your catapult?

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge shows how to make a catapult from popsicle sticks.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge

The next part tends to be kids favorite part! Once the catapult is created, it’s time to test it out!

holiday activity for kids shows a DIY catapult.

Place the turkey toss coin onto the spoon, push down, and let go. The turkey will fly through the air! Depending how the catapult has been made, the turkey will fly a different distance.

The fun and challenge of this STEM activity comes from testing the catapult, by tossing the turkey, but then altering the design each time to improve it.

Thanksgiving STEM Challenge shows a catapult made from a spoon, and popsicle sticks.

Children may notice that the coin does not fly far at all or seems to go high, but not far. Children can change their design to improve the distance. More popsicle sticks can be added to the base to make the spoon lay on more of an angle, or sticks can be removed. Test both and see what effect each has.

The spoon can also be moved and secured in different places or the stack of sticks can be moved closer to one end, or the other.

Testing and changing the design is a great learning opportunity for children to learn that ideas and designs can be changed to make them better. The original design does not have to be the final design.

STEM Extension Ideas

When I did a similar activity in my classroom, my students loved creating and testing their catapult, but were really excited when I brought out containers with numbers on them. This is an easy extension idea for this activity

Set a few containers out in a row on the floor or carpet. The one closest to the catapults should have the number 1 and the furthest can have the highest number. Children line up the catapults and aim for one of the containers.

This activity also works well to prepare and give to kids as a gift/package. Put the materials needed into a sealable baggie along with the activity card. Children can take it home and work on, create and play with their Thanksgiving STEM challenge catapult at home over the holidays.

Free Printable Activity Card

Join Play Learn Inspire and download the activity card and Turkey Toss coin printable right away. When you join, through Grow, you will also unlock all of the other freebies on this site.

Click to Subscribe and Download

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