Big Builds | Kindergarten STEM Engineering Projects & Quick Builds
Big Builds provides 18 hands-on Kindergarten STEM activities designed to introduce young learners to engineering through simple, collaborative, low-prep challenges. The resource includes 6 larger class projects and 12 quick builds, and is designed to complement the Kindergarten STEM Full-Year Curriculum.
What’s IncludedThe six Big Class Projects are:
- Our Tallest Tower
- The Big Bridge
- The Great Marble Race
- Our Class Garden
- The Weather Station
- Invention Convention
The 12 Quick Builds include Cup Stack Race, Paper Chain Bridge, Shape Sort, Roll and Measure, Float or Sink, Magnet Hunt, Seed Watch, Nest Test, Umbrella Test, Ice Watch, Carry the Load, and Loud and Quiet.
Each Big Build is organized into four short sessions, while each Quick Build takes approximately 20 minutes. Every activity includes a child-friendly picture page to support young learners.
How It WorksThe six major projects are extended versions of the Kindergarten curriculum’s unit capstones, while the quick builds are standalone activities that can be used throughout the year.
Projects follow the simple ASK → IMAGINE → BUILD → SHARE engineering process. Children work individually, in pairs, or as a class to design, construct, test, observe, measure, improve, and communicate.
Teachers can complete one Big Build at the end of each unit and use Quick Builds whenever additional STEM time is available. Students can also create individual components that are combined into larger class projects.
STEM SkillsActivities develop foundational skills including:
- Asking questions and identifying problems
- Planning and drawing designs
- Building with everyday materials
- Testing and observing results
- Measuring using counts, cubes, seconds, and minutes
- Comparing outcomes
- Improving designs after testing
- Collaborating with classmates
- Explaining what they built and discovered
Children encounter authentic measurement and investigation through activities such as measuring tower height, counting bridge crossings, and recording weather observations.
Classroom BenefitsThe resource is designed for low preparation and easy classroom management, using familiar materials and short, manageable sessions. The combination of collaborative Big Builds and 20-minute Quick Builds makes it flexible for STEM rotations, science time, early finishers, spare periods, and unit celebrations.
The Invention Convention provides an opportunity for children to share their ideas and creations with an authentic audience, including families.
Overall, Big Builds gives Kindergarten students a structured, playful introduction to engineering while building early skills in design, measurement, observation, problem-solving, collaboration, testing, and communication.
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K - 5 STEM Projects Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
K–5 STEM Projects Bundle | 108 Engineering Projects | Unit Capstones + Mini-Projects for Every Grade 36 multi-session capstone projects and 72 standalone mini-projects across Kindergarten through 5th Grade — the fairs, expos, grand prix races, summits, and showcases that turn a year of STEM challenges into something students build together and present to a real audience. Every grade follows the same pattern: six major projects, one to close each curriculum unit, that extend the unit's capstone challenge into a full team project with a data plan and a presentation, plus twelve mini-projects that stand alone and drop into any spare week. Materials are everyday classroom supplies. What's Included Six grade-level project collections (429 pages total, 108 projects): Kindergarten STEM Projects — Big Builds (59 pages) — 6 class projects in four short sessions each, where pairs build individual parts and combine them into one shared class creation, plus 12 twenty-minute Quick Builds. Picture-page recording for every project. Rubric included. 1st Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — 6 five-session major projects + 12 three-session mini-projects, each with criteria, constraints, a data plan, teacher directions, student planning and results pages, and reflection. 2nd Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — same structure; adds graphing and rubric-ready documentation. 3rd Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds project rubrics, self-assessment, peer review, and panel presentations; teams of 3–4. 4th Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds budgeting and costing challenges, source audits, and one shared rubric covering all 18 projects. 5th Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds trade-off analysis, optimization, stakeholder thinking, and a capstone where students independently run the full engineering process for an authentic audience. The Capstones Each grade's six major projects deliberately reuse builds and data from earlier in the unit, so students see their learning accumulate. Every grade ends with a year-long showcase. K: Our Tallest Tower · The Big Bridge · The Great Marble Race · Our Class Garden · The Weather Station · Invention Convention 1st: The Design Challenge Fair · Build a Better Bridge · The Motion Machine · The Biomimicry Museum · The Weather Report · Young Engineers Showcase 2nd: The Engineering Fair · The Materials Expo · The Marble Run Grand Prix · The Living Systems Museum · The Earth Engineers Summit · STEM Problem Solvers Showcase 3rd: The Engineering Challenge · The Vehicle Grand Prix · The Solar Cooker Challenge · The Ecosystem Investigation · The Hazard Summit · STEM Investigators Showcase 4th: The Design Review · The Energy Challenge · The Communication Network · The Resilience Report · The Biomimicry Expo · STEM Designers & Innovators Showcase 5th: The Innovation Pitch · The Food Preservation System · The Energy Grid · The Mars Habitat · The Sustainability Audit · STEM Innovators Showcase The Mini-Projects Twelve per grade, three sessions each (20 minutes each in K), all new and standalone. A sample of the range: K: Cup Stack Race · Float or Sink · Magnet Hunt · Nest Test · Umbrella Test · Ice Watch 1st: The Great Egg Drop · Cardboard Arcade · Zip Line Challenge · Catapult Challenge · Straw Rocket Lab · Shadow Clock 2nd: Bridge Trials · Water Filter Lab · Seed Dispersal Trials · Recycled Robot · Waste Audit · Sound Barrier Test 3rd: The Replication Study · The Outlier Hunt · Bridge Efficiency Rematch · The Germination Rate Study · The Biodiversity Survey · The Energy Audit 4th: The Budget Squeeze · The Source Audit · The Signal Race · The Mirror Maze · The Payback Calculation · The Product Teardown 5th: The Trade-off Curve · The Replication Test · The Separation Challenge · The Demand Profile · The Decomposition Rate · The Pseudocode Relay How It Works in the Classroom Run a capstone at the end of each unit. Students work in teams (pairs in K, 3–4 in upper grades), plan before building, test and retest, collect data against a plan, and present to an audience — a buddy class, families, school leaders, or a panel that asks them to defend their evidence. Drop a mini-project into any spare week. Use one to replace a regular challenge, fill a short week, prep for a STEM night, or give a data-hungry class more practice. Nothing depends on what came before. What Students Practice, K–5 Counting, measuring, and combining parts into a shared build (K) → data plans, comparing results, and presenting to an audience (1st–2nd) → controlling variables, peer review, and claim–evidence–reasoning (3rd) → budgets, cost-benefit studies, and source reliability (4th) → trade-offs, optimization, and communicating a recommendation someone could act on (5th). Format 6 PDF files, 429 pages total Print-and-go teacher directions, student planning and results pages, and rubrics Teaching duration: 1 full school year per grade Pairs With the K–5 STEM Curriculum The six capstones in each grade are extended, project-based versions of the unit capstone challenges in the grade-level STEM Full-Year Curricula, available together in the K–5 STEM Curriculum Bundle. The 72 mini-projects are new and appear nowhere else. Every project works on its own — the criteria, constraints, and data plans are on the pages. Also available: the K–5 STEM Challenge Cards Bundle and the K–5 STEM Journal Bundle. The K–5 STEM Mega Bundle includes the projects, curricula, cards, journals, and every other grade-level STEM resource in the store. Why Buy the Bundle Six collections bought separately cost $46.94. This bundle is $32.86 — and gives a STEM specialist or a whole elementary building six unit finales and a year-end showcase at every grade, plus 72 ready-to-run projects for the weeks that don't go to plan. Build it together. Test it. Present it. Defend it.
$32.86
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Kindergarten STEM Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
Kindergarten STEM Bundle | Full-Year STEM Curriculum | Engineering Activities, Projects, Task Cards & More Make STEM learning fun, hands-on, and easy to plan all year long with this comprehensive Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle! This collection gives young learners multiple opportunities to explore engineering, solve problems, build ideas, and develop creative thinking through age-appropriate STEM activities. With a full-year STEM curriculum, picture cards, STEM journals, projects, task cards, early-finisher activities, and substitute plans included, this Kindergarten STEM Bundle gives teachers flexible resources for STEM instruction, enrichment, independent learning, and classroom coverage. What's Included This bundle includes 7 kindergarten STEM resources: • Kindergarten STEM Curriculum — 36 weekly challenges across 6 units • Kindergarten STEM Picture Cards — 60 picture-based cards for pre-readers • Kindergarten STEM Journal — 108 drawing-and-labeling recording pages • Kindergarten STEM Projects — 18 hands-on build projects • Kindergarten STEM Task Cards — 60 picture-supported skill cards • Kindergarten STEM for Early Finishers — 36 no-prep challenges with choice board • Kindergarten STEM Sub Plans — 12 emergency lessons with substitute scripts Together, these resources provide multiple ways to introduce, explore, practice, document, and extend STEM and engineering learning throughout the school year. How It Works in the Classroom Use this Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle for: • Daily or weekly STEM instruction • Whole-group STEM lessons • Small-group activities • STEM centers and stations • Engineering challenges • Hands-on projects • Picture-supported STEM learning • STEM journals and reflection • Task card activities • Early-finisher enrichment • Substitute teacher plans • Flexible STEM exploration Use the curriculum for structured STEM learning, picture cards to support visual learning and discussion, projects for hands-on exploration, task cards for shorter activities, and journals for recording student thinking. Standards & Learning Goals Students develop foundational STEM and engineering skills through age-appropriate exploration, including: Engineering Design • Identifying simple problems • Brainstorming possible solutions • Designing and building • Testing ideas • Observing results • Making improvements Problem-Solving • Exploring different solutions • Thinking creatively • Making choices • Trying new strategies • Learning through hands-on discovery STEM Thinking • Observing and investigating • Asking questions • Making predictions • Exploring materials and designs • Connecting STEM concepts to everyday experiences Communication & Reflection • Sharing ideas • Describing designs • Explaining solutions • Recording learning through pictures and writing • Reflecting on STEM experiences Why Teachers Love It * Uses common classroom and recycled materials — full materials list included * Journals use drawing, labeling, and dictation, not written responses. * Complete kindergarten STEM resource collection * Seven complementary STEM resources in one bundle * Full-year engineering activities * Multiple formats for flexible STEM instruction * Picture cards support visual and language-rich learning * Encourages creativity and problem-solving * Includes hands-on projects and engineering activities * Provides meaningful early-finisher options * Includes substitute teacher plans * Works for whole-group, small-group, centers, and independent activities * Saves valuable planning time Instead of searching for different STEM resources throughout the year, teachers can use this Kindergarten STEM Bundle as a flexible resource library. Pull out a picture card for discussion, use a task card for a quick challenge, complete a hands-on project, or use the curriculum for structured STEM instruction. Download Today Add this Kindergarten STEM Curriculum Bundle to your classroom and give young learners a full year of opportunities to explore, create, build, test, and problem-solve! Whether you need a structured STEM lesson, a visual learning activity, a hands-on project, an independent task, an early-finisher activity, or a substitute plan, this bundle gives you flexible STEM resources for the school year.
$42.00
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