Engineering Design Process Activity for Kids

Paper Table Challenge DIY

Duration: 45-60 min
Difficulty: Medium
Cost: $0 to $5

Take the paper table challenge! Your task is to hold up a book using only paper and tape!

Visit The Full Lesson Download Instructions as PDF

Material List

1Newspaper Sheets
3Heavy Books
1Roll of Tape

Instructions

1Try not to copy Adam's design. Instead, use the engineering design process to make your own!
2Phase 1: Define the engineering problem.
3Phase 2: Develop possible solutions.
4Phase 3: Optimize the design solution.

How It Works

Engineers use the engineering design process to solve problems. In this case, we need to hold a book 15 centimeters above the table using up to 20 sheets of newspaper and 2 meters of tape. Next, you can develop possible solutions, which can include researching, designing on paper, on a computer, and of course building and testing it. Most designs are not perfect the first time, so you can then optimize the design solution to improve it. This process is used for everything engineers make.