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    Home » Early Years Science » Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge

    Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge

    August 20, 2021 By Emma Vanstone 2 Comments

    This Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge is a brilliant science experiment for learning about the stability of structures and properties of materials. It’s great for early years science age, but it can also be extended for older children too.

    If you like this, you might also like my Gingerbread Man science experiments.

    We made six different types of Three Little Pig houses loosely based on the story.

    Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge

    You’ll need

    Sticks

    Straws – plastic and paper

    Marshmallows

    Elastic bands

    Cardboard

    LEGO

    Squeezy bottle or small fan to use as wind

    Sugar cubes

    Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge Instructions

    In the classroom, I set up 5 different areas with different materials for the house building and let the children explore each area.

    3 Little Pigs Stick House

    We talked about the properties of sticks, which make them suitable for house building. The best sticks were quite smooth, without too many bumps and all a similar size.

    House built from sticks with a puppet pig inside for a STEM challenge

    3 Little Pigs Straw House

    I bundled the straws up to make them easier to build with and let the children work out the best way to put them together.

    Little Pig house - house made from straw . straws bundled together for a STEM challenge

    Sugar Cube House

    This one was the most popular and kept the children occupied for a long time. You could extend this task by spraying the house with water once finished or sticking the cubes together with different materials, for example, icing sugar or marshmallow fluff, or even just dampening the cubes to see if they stick that way.

    sugar cube house for the Three Little Pigs

    Paper/Cardboard/Straw walls

    I built a frame using LEGO and then cut paper and cardboard walls to test, as well as a wall that could be built from straws. The children then used a squeezy bottle to blow “wind” onto the walls and observed what happened.

    LEGO house for the Three Little Pigs as part of a fun STEM Challenge

    LEGO/Brick House

    I built this LEGO house and left one side of the roof empty so the children could test sticks, ripped cardboard and the LEGO tiles to see which protected against the squeezy bottle wind the most. I placed some tissue paper squares inside the house so the effect of the wind was visible to the children.

    Stick, straw and brick house for the Three Little Pigs

    Marshmallow and Straws

    The children loved this one, but it did get a bit sticky, and the houses were not very stable. Smaller, harder sweets and cocktail sticks might work better.

    marshmallow and straw house for a Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge

    These FREE printable design sheets might be handy too!

    Three Little Pigs House Design Sheets

    design sheet with three houses on it for a three little pigs STEM activity
    Design sheet with a single house for designing a house for the Three Little Pigs
    3 little pigs science activity design sheets
    Instruction sheet for a Three Little Pigs STEM challenge

    Three Little Pigs STEM Challenge Extension Tasks

    Ask children to spray each house with water and observe what happens. They can also make predictions too.

    Children can shake their test houses to find out how stable they are.

    Suggest and test other materials.

    Don’t forget to check out my other storybook themed science experiments too!

    Collage of 3 little pig houses made from sticks, brick and sugar cubes.

    Science concepts

    Exploring and using media and materials

    Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

    Key Stage 1  Science Topics

    Everyday Materials

    Uses of Everyday Materials

    Working Scientifically

    More science for early years

    • Build an Arch STEM Challenge
    • Collection of simple toy car science experiments for kids
      Easy Toy Car Science Experiments
    • Spooky Slime made with no borax
      Halloween Slime
    • Pumpkin Lava Lamps

    Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

    « Mini Motorised Boat STEM Challenge
    How to Make a Wind Vane »

    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Becky

      July 28, 2015 at 6:21 am

      oh that is just fantastic fun!

      Reply
    2. Helen Adcock

      November 22, 2016 at 12:37 pm

      Fabulous ideas for our Year 1 science materials topic. Thank you. We have the materials but not yet made the houses. I’ll try to remember to post how the lessons went.

      Reply

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