This is an awesome STEM challenge for young kids and older ones too! Grab a bunch of paper clips and make a chain. Are paper clips strong enough to hold weight? We have tons more fun STEM activities for you to try! 

STRONG PAPER CLIP CHAIN CHALLENGE

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PAPER CLIP CHALLENGE

Get your kids thinking outside of the box with this easy paper clip activity that shows STEM doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive!

Some of the best STEM challenges are also the cheapest! Keep it fun and playful, and not make it too difficult that it takes forever to complete. All you need for this challenge below are paper clips and something to lift.

Take up the challenge and find out whether you can design and build the strongest paper clip chain. Who would have thought paper clips could lift so much weight!

Have leftover paper clips? Try our floating paper clip experiment or paper clips in a glass!

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STEM QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

These questions for reflection are perfect to use with kiddos of all ages to talk about how the challenge went and what they might do differently next time around.

Use these questions for reflection with your kids after they have completed the STEM challenge to encourage discussion of results and critical thinking.

Older kiddos can use these questions as a writing prompt for a STEM notebook. For younger kiddos, use the questions as a fun conversation!

  1. What were some of the challenges you discovered along the way?
  2. What worked well and what did not work well?
  3. What would you do differently next time?
  4. Do you think one way to connect the paper clips is stronger than another way?
  5. Does the length of the chain make any difference?

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE PRINTABLE STEM CHALLENGE!

PAPER CLIP STEM CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE: Make a paper clip chain that can hold the most amount of weight.

TIME NEEDED: At least 20-30 minutes is usually a good time allotment if you need to keep track of the clock, but it can also end up being an open-ended exploration that can morph into new challenges.

SUPPLIES:

  • Paper clips
  • Bucket or basket with a handle
  • Weighted items like marbles, coins, rocks, etc.
  • A scale is optional but fun if you want to make it a competition to see who’s chain is the strongest

INSTRUCTIONS: MAKE A PAPER CLIP CHAIN

STEP 1. Start with a handful of paper clips for each person or group. Link them together to form a chain.

Hint: There is more than one way to design your paper clip chain.

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STEP 2. Attach your chain to the handle of a bucket or basket.

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STEP 3. Suspend the bucket from the chain and continue to add weight to it until it breaks.

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Or alternatively, add a known weight to the bucket and test whether the paper clip chain can hold the weight for a minute or more.

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STEP 4. Make sure to end the activity with a discussion.

  • What were some of the challenges you discovered along the way?
  • What worked well and what did not work well?
  • What would you do differently next time?
  • Do you think one way to connect the paper clips is stronger than another way?
  • Does the length of the chain make any difference?

MORE FUN STEM CHALLENGES

Straw Boat Challenge – Design a boat made from nothing but straws and tape, and see how many items it can hold before it sinks.

Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower – Build the tallest spaghetti tower that can hold the weight of a jumbo marshmallow.

Strong Spaghetti – Build a bridge using spaghetti. Which bridge will hold the most weight?

Paper Bridges – Similar to our strong spaghetti challenge. Design a paper bridge with folded paper. Which one will hold the most coins?

Paper Chain STEM Challenge – One of the simplest STEM challenges ever!

Egg Drop Challenge – Create your own designs to protect your egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height. 

Strong Paper – Experiment with folding paper in different ways to test its strength, and learn about what shapes make the strongest structures.

Marshmallow Toothpick Tower – Build the tallest tower using only marshmallows and toothpicks.

Penny Boat Challenge – Design a simple tin foil boat, and see how many pennies it can hold before it sinks.

Gumdrop Bridge – Build a bridge from gumdrops and toothpicks and see how much weight it can hold.

Cup Tower Challenge – Make the tallest tower you can with 100 paper cups.

STRONG PAPER CLIPS FOR STEM

Click on the image below or on the link for more fun STEM projects for kids.

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