Jack climbed up the beanstalk and brought back a golden goose. Help Jack bring the goose down safely down the beanstalk.
Objective: Using two different types of materials, learners will build a nest that will keep the golden goose safe.
STEAM Challenge: What kind of nest would keep a goose safe as Jack climbs down the beanstalk?
Materials:
Assorted nest building materials (Ex: pipe cleaners, tissues, egg carton, small plastic food containers, cotton balls, plastic cups)
Small stuffed bird or plastic eggs (or real eggs)
Goose_Drawing Prompt, crayons
Tutorial:
Step 1: Read Jack and the Beanstalk.
Step 2: Talk about how Jack might have gotten the golden goose down the beanstalk safely. Design a nest that the goose could ride in safely, that wouldn’t hurt the goose if she happened to fall.
Step 3: Have your child draw their nest (download the drawing prompt here)
Step 4: Build the nest and place either the stuffed bird, plastic egg, or a real egg into the nest.
Drop the nest from table height and observe the results. If the bird/egg stayed in the nest, then the nest is safe. (If using a real egg, the real egg should remain un-cracked).
Redesign the nest if necessary and test again. Observe results and draw some conclusions.
Guiding questions:
What did you notice about your nest?
What happened when you dropped it? Was the goose safe?
What would you have done differently?
Why did your nest work?
What things in your nest do you think helped the most?
Literature Connection: Jack and the Beanstalk.
STEAM Connections:
Science: Students should draw the conclusion that soft things in the nest cushion the impact, while hard things protect. You need a balance of the two to achieve a safe nest for the goose. You could also introduce the concept of gravity.
Technology: Take a video of the drop, review and use the data to redesign if necessary.
Engineering: This is the primary component of this activity, as your learner must design a nest to keep the golden goose safe. In order to do this, the nest needs to both protect and cushion the goose/egg.
Art: Draw a picture of the nest.
Math: Talk about the size and shape of the nest, would a bigger or smaller nest help? Does the height of the drop matter? For older children, have them measure the height of the table and change the drop height to extend the activity.
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