If you are a fan of the hit TV reality competition, Masterchef, then you would be familiar with the concept of the mystery box challenge – it’s actually my favourite part of the show! For those who don’t know, the contestants are each presented with a box of identical, mystery ingredients from which they are required to create a mouthwatering dish. They don’t have to use every ingredient in the box but apart from a few, very basic pantry staples, what they discover in the box is pretty much it. It’s fun to see the dishes created by the talented and very creative contestants.
Taking this concept and applying it to children, learning and the great ideas children have, I recently put together two Mystery Bag Engineering Challenges for a group of great kids (aged between 6 and 12 years of age) to get creative with. The children all had lots of fun and it was fascinating to see how each approached their challenge and the use of materials.
2 Engineering Mystery Bag Challenges for Kids
CHALLENGE ONE: The Pom Pom Launcher
Mystery bag #1 challenged the children to make a Pom Pom Launcher;
MATERIALS
The materials available in the mystery bag were;
- Pom poms
- Large index cards
- Paper drinking cups
- Tape
- Drinking straws
- Popsticks
- Rubber bands
- String
- Paper clips
THE RESULTS
CHALLENGE TWO: The Free Standing Marble Run
Mystery bag #2 challenged the children to make a Marble Run;
MATERIALS
The materials available in the mystery bag were;
- Marbles
- Tape
- A cardboard tube
- Large index cards
- Large popsticks
- Paper clips
THE RESULTS
Didn’t they all do well!
As they were completing their mystery bag task the children were all developing and applying skills and knowledge associated with;
- Creative thinking
- Planning
- Problem solving
- Spatial relationships
- Measurement
- Kinetic energy
- Trial and error
- Task perseverance
- Emotional control
- A sense of achievement
- Fine and gross motor skills
All while they were having great fun!
With this type of challenge, you can adapt each task by simplifying or extending the difficulty of the challenge – see the extension idea on the Marble Run task card above as an example. If you have never tried this type of activity with your children before, you might find the tips from this post – 5 Construction Challenges for Kids with Big Ideas, helpful.
Have children who love to build? Be sure to check out our collection of the best building kits for kids and our list of 21 awesome Lego books for kids.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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