The Snow Shelter STEM Challenge is a free printable worksheet that guides students through designing and building a small shelter to protect an animal from cold, wind, and snow. Using a winter-themed engineering challenge, children plan their ideas, consider materials, and explore ways to keep their shelter stable and insulated.
Design, Build, and Test a Winter Animal Shelter
Students begin by sketching a shelter that fits a small animal. The worksheet shows suggested materials, including a box, craft sticks, cotton, tape, and a sheet. Four design constraints help students consider stability, size, insulation, and available supplies.
Next, students build their shelter and draw or label the finished design. They explain how they could test it, evaluate what worked well, and identify improvements. Finally, they sketch a redesigned shelter or changes they would make.
This hands-on winter STEM activity supports problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and the engineering design process. Teachers and homeschoolers can use it for a small-group building challenge or an individual design project. Younger students may benefit from help recording their observations and ideas.
Worksheet Preview
What’s Included
- 1 PDF file containing 2 versions of the same worksheet
- 1 color-accented page and 1 black-and-white page
- Five engineering stages: plan, build, test, evaluate, and redesign
- US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches), portrait orientation
- Free printable PDF download
