Paper Chain Challenge
As part of our ongoing partnership with Outdoor Ted, an organisation that helps primary schools in our local communities to get a varied outdoor education, we are going to be offering a weekly STEM challenge. This is part of their new initiative, ‘Indoor Ted’, aimed at inspiring children and families to take on fun and educational tasks at home during this unprecedented time. This week it’s the longest paper chain challenge, we look forward to seeing your creations on social!
What we used:
1 sheet of A4 paper per person (this could be scrap A4 paper from letters etc), 15-minute kitchen timer, coloured pens to make each person’s sheet of paper a different colour, glue sticks, scissors, tape measure.
What we did:
Everyone had 15 minutes to make as long a paper chain as they could before the timer ran out.
Variables (or making the activity fair) — these could be used for an investigation: length of strip, width of strip, equipment (e.g. better scissors), person’s ability to cut or stick, size of paper (we kept this the same), time (we kept this the same).
Ideas for variations:
· Count the number of links or ran order the chain length if you don’t have a tape measure.
· Take turns to make a chain if you only have 1 glue stick and pair of scissors.
· Repeat the same investigation again and see if you can beat your own chain length.
· Work in production lines, e.g. 1 person cut strips, 1 person join the loops.
· Make a patterned chain, e.g. alternating colours or a pattern of short link, long link.
· Remote competitions with other households — maybe live over a video call!
Our results:
You could calculate the mean average chain length or number of links.
How about making a graph of your results, or investigating the relationship between chain length and number of loops?
