The Brown Bag STEM Challenge II- Perfect Parachutes

In this challenge, students will need to keep their cargo  aloft the longest, so be sure to provide a surplus of materials to support multiple parachutes per student or pair. I also like to provide different types of paper, string, and tape so that students can learn about how weight and other different characteristics affect a parachute.

Once students have finished a design they should test it and collect data.   Safety takes priority, so I don’t allow them to stand on anything but their own two feet to test. As a result, I specify that they test from the height of 48″ (which is about how far my students can reach without standing on anything).

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: SEP- Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Planning and Carrying out Investigations, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information   CCC- Patterns, Systems and System Models

CCSS Math: Number and Operations, Measurement and Data, Geometry, Rations and Proportional Relationships