Popsicle Stick Ferris Wheels: Engineering Creativity and Fun!

Today, our team explored a fun, yet challenging spin on a typical engineering project done in school (toothpick and marshmallow towers) by helping students build model Ferris Wheels with popsicle sticks! Although they were given an initial set of instructions, the students experimented with the design by using different shapes of various sizes for the foundation of the structure to see their impact on the overall effectiveness of the model. When some of the structures struggled to spin as designed, the students implemented critical thinking skills to take apart some of the popsicle sticks and try different adhesives and arrangements.