By Trilby
Are you looking for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day activity to celebrate the holiday in your classroom? A St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge is a great way to bring the legends of this holiday to life while engaging students in hands-on learning.
Teachers, Are you short on time? Grab the ready-to-go activity here.
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The Legend of St. Patrick and the Snakes
One of the most famous stories about St. Patrick tells of how he banished all the snakes from Ireland, using his wisdom and determination to rid the land of the slithering creatures. While historians believe that Ireland never actually had snakes, the legend symbolizes St. Patrick’s role in bringing change and transformation.
This tale of problem-solving and persistence is the perfect inspiration for a STEM challenge, where students can design and build their own creative solutions to tackle an imaginary snake problem—engineering tools to safely remove “snakes” from their classroom or experimenting with ways to model St. Patrick’s legendary feat!
St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge: Engineering a Snake Removal Device
Challenge your students to design a tool that can be used to safely pick up snakes and dispose of them in a bucket. Additional criteria and constraints, such as the tool should be at least 1 meter long, it may only pick up one snake at a time, or it must be operated using only one hand, can add an extra layer of difficulty and creativity to the challenge.
Students will need to apply engineering principles, problem-solving skills, and an understanding of forces and motion to develop an effective design. Encourage them to brainstorm, sketch their ideas, and test different prototypes before finalizing their tool. At the end of the challenge, teams will demonstrate their devices to see which design is the most efficient at safely removing “snakes” while meeting all the given constraints.
St. Patrick’s Day STEM Materials List
- A clear floor area for testing the devices
- A bucket
- Plastic snakes or pipe cleaners that can be bent to model snakes
- Various building supplies, such as cardboard, wooden craft sticks, clean recyclables, tape, straws, etc.
Click here to add your supplies to your Amazon cart now.
Why You’ll Love This St. Patrick’s Day STEM Activity
Hands-on learning activities are perfect for holidays in the classroom. Student energy tends to be high, and it’s difficult to keep their focus with traditional lessons. This St. Patrick’s Day STEM activity provides an engaging, hands-on challenge that channels their excitement into problem-solving and creativity. Instead of distractions, students will be immersed in engineering, critical thinking, and teamwork as they design and build their own solutions. Plus, this activity is flexible—it works well for a full class period, as a station in a STEM rotation, or even as an extension project. Whether you’re looking for a way to celebrate the holiday meaningfully or just need a fun, educational activity to keep students engaged, this challenge is the perfect fit!
Other reasons you’ll love this St. Patrick’s Day STEM Activity:
- Keeps students engaged through the unpredictable March weather and spring excitement
- Perfect for unusual schedules due to field trips, testing, or assemblies
- Encourages problem-solving with the engineering design process
- Develops 21st-century skills like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking
- Great for extra credit, holiday break packets, or extension activities
Want More Support Planning Your St. Patrick’s Day Activity?
This St. Patrick’s Day STEAM challenge is ready to go with minimal prep! Just print the materials or assign them digitally, grab simple building supplies, and let the fun begin.
- PDF, Google, and Easel versions of the student materials
- Detailed teacher notes that include suggestions for differentiation and implementation
- A slideshow to assist with lesson facilitation
- A rubric for easy grading
- End-of-project celebration certificates
Give your students a memorable and educational St. Patrick’s Day with this hands-on March STEM activity. Grab your copy today and make planning a breeze!
