The Brown Bag STEM Challenge II- Hot Air Balloons

In this challenge, students design and fly a hot air balloon that will stay aloft the longest.  This one sounds simple, but don’t let it fool you!  It is more difficult than it sounds, so be sure to provide a little more time as students learn which shapes and designs “fly” the best.

I like to have teams of three for this project, simply because it is more involved and requires students to follow specific directions for this first round. I’m also a big fan of assigning jobs, so I prefer to divide up the work either specific to this challenge or like this.

The Brown Bag STEM Challenge design challenges focus on some key STEM concepts like critical thinking and problem solving, all while being low-cost to implement  This sequel series contains all of the same elements (design briefs, NGSS alignment, Interactive STEM Notebook pages, etc.) as the original, but with new challenges!

So, what did we learn?
Next Generation Science Standards: Planning and Carrying out Investigations, Designing Solutions; Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information CCC- Patterns, Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

CCSS Math: Measurement and Data, Geometry, Ratios and Proportional Relationships

Get The Brown Bag STEM Challenge II Bundle Pack with ALL 10 Engineering Design Challenges including Hot Air Balloons!