Fargo Students to Participate Gingerbread Men S.T.E.M. Activity

The 20 students in Jessica Voss’ kindergarten class at Eagles Elementary school will pair up with their 20 fourth grade buddies from Aaron Kliniske’s class to complete a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activity together on December 19. The student pairs will work in small teams to design and construct a bridge using unusual materials, including gingerbread men.

Throughout the month of December, the kindergarten students at Eagles have been reading and listening to many story books involving a classic holiday icon, the Gingerbread Man. They have compared and contrasted characters, settings, and story endings in these many versions. The students have determined that in nearly all versions, the main character needed to cross a river, was tricked, and then eaten by a sly fox or wolf.

For this STEM challenge, the student teams will build a bridge out of straws, pipe cleaners, egg cartons, or popsicle sticks and masking tape for their gingerbread man to cross over a “river” (a juice box). Jacob Knodel, administrative intern, will then judge the bridges strength to withstand a gingerbread man for 20 seconds.