Create a chair made of newspapers that can hold a person. Your chair must adhere to the following requirements:

  1. The dimensions of the chair must be at least 10”x10”x10’’
  2. The chair must be freestanding (this means you cannot tape it to the floor, wall, or other structure)
  3. You can only use ONE type of material to build your chair, you may use as much of your ONE material as you would like

Materials: tape; newspaper OR computer paper OR construction paper OR paper cups OR another paper item of your choice

Tools: scissors, ruler

Measure of Success: meet the four requirements listed and be able to support a person

ASK: What is the problem you are trying to address? What are the constraints? What information do you need in order to solve the problem?

IMAGINE: What ideas do you have for creating your chair? What is your best idea?

PLAN: Diagram your design ideas. How are you using your materials?

CREATE and TEST: Create your chair and test your design. Was it successful? Why or why not? What worked with your design? What could you do to make the chair better?

IMPROVE and TEST: Did the improvements you made make your design better or worse?

Looking for more engineering activities to do at home? Check out our list of ECC-at home curriculum HERE!