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active challenge:

sticky spider web

Suggested Ages: K – 5th Grades

Craft a sticky spider web out of tape! In this active challenge, you’ll have to BE DETERMINED to capture as many objects as you can in your web. Or, for an innovative twist, work with a buddy to pass an object back and forth without it getting stuck in the web!

This is no ordinary DIY activity for kids: It’s a step toward becoming an innovator.

 

Every Galileo Active Challenge gets kids moving and teaches the same mindsets that professional designers, engineers, artists and athletes use in their work. With skills like these, we believe you can change the world.

Get Involved—For Grown Ups

Materials list:

Help your child find these materials or a close substitute: 

 

  • Tape (preferably blue painters tape, so it doesn’t damage any surfaces)
  • Anything lightweight that can be thrown (crumpled paper, balloons, balled-up socks, etc.)

 

Activity Steps:

Use these to keep your innovator on track as they play: 

 

    1. String long pieces of tape across a doorway or between 2 pieces of furniture. The gap should be about 2-3′ wide.
    2. Crumple up paper or find other lightweight objects to try throwing at the web.
    3. Throw things at the web and try to get them to stick! Experiment with throwing different objects, throwing styles, or web designs until you find the best combination that makes the game the most fun!

 

Guiding Questions:

If your child is stuck, try asking these questions to help them keep on innovating: 

 

  • What’s not working? What could you try instead?
  • How might you make the game easier or harder? What might make it even more fun to play?

 

More Ideas:

Every project presents opportunities to add your own twists or extensions. Here are some ideas to get you started: 

 

  • Try some multi-player variations: See who can get the most objects to stick, or see how many times you can throw an object back-and-forth through the web without it getting stuck.

 

Wrap Up Questions:

Lock in the learning by asking your child these questions about the activity and how they practiced the featured Innovator’s Mindset element: 

 

  • What was the hardest part about making or creating this game? How did being determined help you address that challenge?
  • What did you discover about the best way to get objects to stick? How many other ideas did you try to help you figure out that was the best way? Do you think you might discover other things if you tried even more ideas?

SHARE!

The last step in the Gallieo Innovator’s Process is SHARE. Great learning can come from sharing successes and failures—to solidify your own experience as an innovator and to inspire others.

 

Share with Galileo

 

Take a picture of your child’s sticky spider web or a video of them throwing something into their web and share it with the Camp Galileo Anywhere community.

 

 

 

SHARE WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 

Your innovation doesn’t stop with you. Inspire someone else by sharing your active challenge—maybe they’ll try it themselves or maybe your experience will give them a new idea.

 

  • Who: someone in your house, a family member, a friend
  • How: in person, on the phone, online
  • When: anytime, starting now!