Leprechaun Trap Challenge (STEM): St. Patrick's Day

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Leprechaun Trap Challenge (STEM) Instructions: Build a trap to catch a leprechaun using everyday materials. Follow the design process below! Objective: Encourage creativity, engineering skills, and problem-solving by designing a functional trap that could catch a mischievous leprechaun. Planning Sheet: Materials List: What will you use? (e.g., paper, string, tape, cardboard, LEGOs, pipe cleaners, cups, paper towel rolls, craft sticks, aluminum foil, etc.) Sketch Your Design: Draw how your trap will work, labeling key parts and mechanisms. Trap Mechanism: How will your trap trigger when the leprechaun enters? Will it use a pulley, lever, or hidden entrance? Will you include bait like gold coins, glitter, or candy? Building Phase: Work on assembling your trap using the selected materials. Testing & Improvements: Try triggering the trap multiple times. Identify any weaknesses and refine the design. Reflection Questions: What was the most challenging part of building the trap? What ...
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Classroom Ice Breaker or Fun Brain Break: Line Up by Birthdays

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Teachers can use this activity as an ice breaker to get to know the class, anytime as a brain break or fun activity. You could do this once a month to see how many students remember where they were.

This activity involves the whole class at the same time. It could get a little chaotic, so be prepared!

All the kids get together on side of the room. They may need to spread out to complete it.

They are going to line themselves up by birthday as to how it occurs during the year. (Not by years, obviously). That is, a student born on January 25 lines up before someone born on March 3. And so on. Lining up left to right is probably best.

To add a little fun, get yourself in the activity too!

You may choose one or two students to coordinate, one boy, one girl, for example. They must get in line too, where their birthdays fit.

When they think they are finished, you can choose another student to go down the line and write all birthdays down, as a final check. If they are off, they need to correct their places.

It won't take too long to write down. You should have a paper with the months in order, and keep track of the day. If you want to get more detailed, you can write the student's name down as well.

You can then describe the birthdays to the class, and involve them. For example, point out who was born earliest in the year, latest, etc. Which month had the most birthdays? Anyone born on a holiday? Get creative.

Have fun and good luck!

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