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.
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.
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.
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/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.
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.
These FREE printable design sheets might be handy too!
Three Little Pigs House Design Sheets
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!
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
Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
oh that is just fantastic fun!
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.