LEGO STEM Challenge, Foosball Forces & Motion! Explore LEGO Challenge Ideas

Inspire young engineers to dive into the exciting world of forces and motion with this LEGO STEM challenge. Building a Foosball game with LEGO bricks is a terrific STEM project. The students really enjoyed designing and troubleshooting the design process. Theprolerner.com highly recommends this Lego challenge idea. Your students will definitely benefit from Lego stem activities. Because it allows students to explore fundamental physics concepts in an engaging, hands-on way. Perfect for elementary classrooms, this activity combines creativity, problem-solving, and science, reinforcing Newton's First Law of Motion in a fun and interactive environment.

LEGO STEM Challenge, Foosball Forces & Motion! Explore LEGO Challenge Ideas

LEGO STEM Challenge, Foosball Forces, and motion! Explore LEGO challenge ideas

Why This LEGO Foosball Challenge is Perfect for STEM Learning

This challenge goes beyond just building—it integrates key STEM concepts and physical skills like:

Force and Motion Understanding: By playing the game, students see forces in action—learning how pushes and pulls affect the ball’s speed and direction.
Fine Motor Skill Development: Building and maneuvering the game components helps children refine their coordination and motor skills.
Problem Solving and Teamwork: Working together to design and troubleshoot their Foosball game promotes collaboration and creative problem-solving, skills essential to any STEM field

LEGO Stem Challenge Lesson Plan:

Build Your Own Foosball Game

Objective:

Students will work collaboratively to design and build a homemade Foosball game using basic materials. They will explore the principles of force and motion while developing their fine motor skills.

Materials Needed:

1 10"x10" LEGO baseplate
4 small wooden dowels
Assorted LEGO bricks
8 clothespins
1 small lightweight ball (such as a ping pong ball or mini soccer ball)
Tape
Scissors
Ruler (optional, for measuring)

Instructions:

Step 1: Create the Walls

Measure Height: Place a clothespin next to your LEGO baseplate to see how tall your walls should be.
Build the Walls: Construct a wall slightly taller than the upright clothespin on one edge of the baseplate. Repeat this process on the opposite side.
Position Clothespins: Place a clothespin sideways in each corner of the baseplate to mark where the holes will go.
Space the Clothespins: Stand four clothespins upright between the two sideways pins, ensuring they are spaced evenly.
Add More Layers: Build two additional wall layers, leaving four spaces for the dowels to fit through.
Ensure Straightness: The dowels will fit straight across by building the wall with holes on the opposite side.

Step 2: Add Dowels and Players

Insert the Dowels: Fit one wooden dowel into each pair of holes you created in the wall.
Attach Clothespin Players: Attach two clothespins to each wooden dowel. These will be your "players."

Step 3: Build the Goal Posts

Construct End Walls: Build the two end walls, leaving a space in the center for the goalposts.

Step 4: Get Ready to Play!

Label the Game: Tape a note explaining Newton's First Law of Motion to the outside of the game.
Position the Ball: Place the lightweight ball in the center of the LEGO box.
Choose Your Side: Decide which side each player will control.
Game Objective: Use the clothespin players to push, pull, and turn the dowels to move the ball toward your opponent’s goal while trying to protect your own goal. The first player to score five points wins!

Lego STEM Activities for Elementary

Investigative Questions:

What objects did you push or pull to make the ball move?

What happened when you stopped pushing or pulling the wooden dowels?

What objects slowed the ball down during the game?

The Design Process:

Brainstorming: Discuss ideas for your Foosball game design and what materials you could use.
Building: Follow the steps to create your game.
Testing: Play the game and observe how the forces affect the movement of the ball.
Reflection: After playing, discuss what you enjoyed and what you would change for next time.

Related worksheets

Stem activities
Coding worksheets
Prekindergarten worksheets

Assessment:

Participation: Observe how well each student engages in the building and playing process.
Understanding: Assess their ability to explain the concepts of force and motion during gameplay.
Teamwork: Notice how well students work together throughout the activity.

Free Printable PDF STEM Lesson Plan

Ready to bring the LEGO STEM Challenge to life in your classroom? Download our free PDF lesson plan at the bottom of this page to get started! This printable includes step-by-step instructions, an investigative worksheet with questions, a Forces and Motion crossword puzzle, and a cut-out version of Newton's First Law of Motion to attach to your Foosball game—making it an enriching, educational experience for students.

Download LEGO STEM Challenge, Foosball From Here

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