In our first engineering workshop for kids 8-12 we tackled a fun yet challenging task: fitty a gummy worm through a gummy life saver without directly touching either. This simple-sounding activity was a great way to teach teamwork and problem-solving skills – key concepts for engineering.
The Activity
This challenge is often done with only a few paperclips, but we used many materials to encourage creativity in finding ways to manipulate the gummies indirectly. You can use materials such as paperclips, string, toothpicks, pencils, and someone even had a straw they wanted to use, the possibilities for materials are endless! This challenge might sound simple but it requires persistence and creativity to figure out the best approach.
We started off this challenge doing it solo, then we broke into teams of two and learned that working with a team was much easier than attempting it solo. This activity teaches some of the core skills engineers use every day. Whether it’s collaborating with others, trial and error, or thinking creatively about solutions, participants walked away with practical skills that go far beyond candy and fun.
One participant exclaimed, “This is harder than it looks!” as they struggled to maneuver the worm. The whole group quickly learned that engineering is all about experimenting and learning from mistakes.
In the end, everyone succeeded in getting their gummy worms through the lifesaver, showing that with creativity and perseverance, no challenge is too tough! If you’re excited to explore more hands-on STEM activities, stay tuned for our next workshop!
Insights
This was the first ever workshop I’ve hosted and although I was nervous it ended up being a lot of fun, and I am really looking forward to our next workshops. Having the kids share that they had fun and our excited for the next sessions as well as the parents being excited over more engineering sessions definitely made it all worth it!
Here are some key takeaways from doing this as an in person workshop:
- This activity is fun but also a quick one, taking only around 45 minutes as a group
- The setup was fairly quick taking only a few minutes to lay out supplies
- I think it could have encouraged even more creativity to increase the material options
- I had shared that this is often done with paperclips but I would like to see what everyone would choose without that previous knowledge
