Introduction: LEGO Zipline

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About: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (or STEAM) programs at Boston Children’s Museum foster children’s curiosity, creativity, and learning as they try things out and explore the world around them.

In this challenge, kids are challenged to build something out of LEGO that can travel from the top to the bottom of a zipline. This engineering challenge is a great way to practice STEAM Habits of Mind such as persistence, problem solving, and creativity.

Supplies

For this activity you will need:

  • Fishing line
  • Yarn
  • LEGO for older kids, Duplo for younger kids
  • Scissors
  • Pillow
  • Painter's tape (optional)
  • PVC (optional)

Step 1: Set Up the Zipline

There are many different ways to set up this activity and you should do what works best for your space! You will create two ziplines: one made from fishing line and one made from yarn. Here are two different ways we have set them up:

  1. Cut six feet of yarn and six feet of fishing line. Tie or tape one end of the fishing line to somewhere high up in your space-- a cabinet, a wall, a stack of chairs, etc. You want to get some height! Tie the other end onto something low-- the floor, a low stool or chair, etc. Do the same procedure with the yarn. Make sure that each one has a sharp enough slope; you don't want them to be flat. Now you have two ziplines to test!
  2. Use PVC pieces to create an L-shape, as in the first picture. Attach fishing line and yarn to the top and bottom of the L. This zipline set up is not as dramatic as the first, but it is much easier to use/store and also poses less of a trip hazard.

Put a pillow or something soft at the bottom of the zipline to cushion the landing. If you chose option 1, you may want to tape out a large zone around the ziplines. Let kids know that there is invisible fishing line inside of the zone that is a tripping hazard.

Step 2: Introduce the Challenge

Explain to kids that their challenge is to build something out of LEGO that can attach to the zipline and ride from the top to the bottom on its own.

Step 3: Worktime

Let kids choose the LEGO pieces they want to use. Then, give them time to work. Remind everyone that they first thing they need to figure out is how to attach what they create to the zipline! Many kids will make something thinking that they can detach the zipline strings to thread their LEGO design on. This is not the case!

Step 4: Testing and Iteration

Encourage kids to test simple designs and then add on to them after. Kids can pick if they want to test their creations on the fishing line or the yarn. Many designs will break the first few times down the zipline and that is okay! It is part of the engineering design process. Invite kids to try again and test a new idea or design. For kids who find a solution to the challenge quickly, you can encourage them to test their design on whichever line they didn't try the first time (yarn or fishing line).