Maker challenges are teacher-prompted, open-ended project ideas and problems for students to solve in a self-directed, thinking-with-their-hands way, guided by the engineering design process—with the intent to cultivate everyday thinking routines and engineering habits of mind.
Through Maker Challenges, students experience tinkering, creating and working through the design cycle as they are tasked with a challenge—such as making Snazzy Sneakers, Carrier Devices for Crutches or T-Shirt Launchers—for which they design and create solutions.
Along the way, students find their own experts, iterate ideas and log their journeys in a design journal before sharing their end creations—cultivating the maker mindset to “believe you can do anything!”
Because Maker Challenges are open-ended in the direction and depth to which students pursue them—the time required and grade level are loose estimates, and aligned academic standards are not identified.
Browse our current Maker Challenges—and check back as we add more.
