You Need to Try These Engineering Activities for Kids

Check out 14 super engaging engineering activities for kids to try! Be sure to check out the free printable at the bottom of the post, too.

Children are natural engineers. They love to design and build with almost anything they can get their hands on, don’t you think?

I know I love watching both my son and my students as they are busy creating something of their own design.

In fact, I often refer to my son as Engineer here on Fun-A-Day. That’s not his real name, in case you’re wondering. He’s just always loved planning and building all kinds of creations. So the nickname stuck.

Something tells me your students are going to get a kick out of these engineering activities for kids!

Engineering Activities for Kids to Get Their Hands On

Here are some wonderful engineering ideas you can try with your students, or your own children. If you try any of them, be sure to let me know.

Even better, tell me about some of your favorite activities for little engineers. I’m always on the lookout for ideas we haven’t tried before.

Use a “Book of Structures” to inspire block building

Our printable book of world structures has been a hit, inside the classroom and out, for years now. In addition to the engineering it inspires, it also helps kids learn about other countries.

You can find more details about the full printable, along with a free printable version, at the bottom of this post.

Design and build a roller coaster

I love this engineering challenge idea from Planet Smarty Pants! What kid doesn’t want to design their own roller coaster?

Play and learn with Rube Goldberg machines

Brain Power Boy shares a variety of ways to learn about and explore Rube Goldberg machines.

Create a flag using LEGO pieces

Incorporate history and geography with this idea from Shield of Faith Homeschooling. I bet the kids would love designing their own flag with LEGO bricks, too.

Construct a LEGO camping lantern

This idea from LalyMom would be perfect during a camping theme, or just as a challenge for LEGO lovers you know.

Engineer and explore very unique forts

Does one every really outgrow a love for building forts? TinkerLab shares 3 fun fort engineering activities for kids to try. I think the branch and yarn version is my favorite.

Design one of these 14 catapults

We had a blast painting with catapults and can’t wait to try out the other ideas!

Make a snack pulley 

Left Brain Craft Brain’s pulley for snacks is seriously amazing. The step-by-step directions are easy to follow, and this would make a great parent-child project.

Set up a pumpkin engineering challenge for the kids

We’ve done this one in the fall a few times now. Something tells me the kids would get into the challenge at any time of the year, though!

Create mazes for hexbugs

Buggy and Buddy shares so many fun ways to make hexbug mazes. I think our favorite may be the one out of magnetic tiles.

Experiment with a homemade marble run made from recyclables

Grab materials from your recycling box and get to making a marble run! We made ours on a sliding glass door, but you could make one on a wall or a fence outside.

Challenge the kids with mystery engineering bags

This idea, from Childhood 101, would be fun as part of a family night hosted at your school. You could also put some together and send them home for special family projects.

Experiment with PVC pipe creations at school

Rubberboots and Elf Shoes set up this engineering and physics outside, and her kids certainly had so much fun!

Or add those PVC pipes to a water table

We’ve also set up a PVC challenge in the water table, both at home and at school. Each and every time, the kids take things in a new direction.

Do you have any engineering activities for kids to try? If so, I’d love for you to leave them in the comments below. My son will thank you! 😉 Which of the above activities would interest your children the most?

World Structures STEM Challenges for Your Building Center

Take a peek at the most up-to-date version of the structure book. Perfect addition to your stash of engineering activities for kids!

32 full pages of structures from around the world.

There are a variety of countries represented, from Australia to China to Canada to Peru. I love that there are different types of structures and engineering methods.

10 full pages of castles from around the world.

This addition is perfect to use during a fairy tale theme, or with kids who are enamored with all things castles.

A flip-book version of the 42 world structures.

These are smaller versions of the structures (four to a page, instead of full-size like those mentioned above). The flip-book version is perfect for classrooms that don’t have room for the larger structure book.

Or add them to your math or fine motor center instead so the kids can build the structures with LEGO bricks or math manipulatives.

4 different building plan options.

Get the little engineers planning out what they will build with these planning sheets. Maybe they’ll use the planning pages to determine how to make a structure from the world structure book. Or maybe they’ll be inspired to create their own building masterpiece.

6 different recording pages to document what the kids have made.

These recording pages can be used in a few different ways. Kids can draw picture of what they’ve made to take home and show their parents. They can be used to keep a class record of what structures have been made throughout the year (with kid-drawn pictures or real photographs). You could even make a class book about all of the engineering projects your students have put together!

6 cover choices to add to a class-made structure book.

These cover pages are perfect for putting together a class book about what’s been made in the building center. You can combine the covers with the recording pages – laminate everything and then bind it together into a book. Or you can add everything to a three-ring binder and put the cover on the front of the binder.

Get your own World Structures STEM Book at Preschool Teacher 101.
You can also find it on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Get Your Free Printable Here

Grab a free six-page version of the world structure book by clicking on the button below. You’ll also get to join Fun-A-Day’s free email community when you download the freebie.

The free version gives you a sample of what to expect in the full 70+ pages World Structures printable. There are four full-page structures included, along with a one-page castle add-on (to make a small flip-book of four castles), and one of the building planning sheets for the kids.