🎒 Kit Lesson — Specialty materials included in the physical kit
⛵ 💨 🛒
Can you design a wagon that moves using only the wind? Engineer it, test it, make it better!
📋 NGSS Standard: K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool K-2-ETS1-2 — Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem K-2-ETS1-3 — Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs
🎯 Learning Objective
Students will investigate wind Wagon Engineering Challenge, make observations during the lesson activity, and explain what they learned using evidence from the lesson.
🎯 The Big Idea
Wind is just moving air — and moving air can push! Engineers use the wind's push to move sailboats, power wind turbines, and even fly kites. In this challenge, your kids will become engineers: they'll design, build, test, and improve a wind wagon — a wheeled vehicle that moves when pushed by wind from a fan (or your breath!). This is a full engineering design challenge using the Engineering Design Process: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, and Improve!
🔬 The Science
Wind is air that's moving fast, and when it hits something, it pushes it. The bigger the sail (the surface the wind hits), the stronger the push. Engineers design things by testing ideas, seeing what works, and making improvements. This is called the Engineering Design Process. You'll follow these steps today: Ask a question, Imagine solutions, Plan your design, Create it, Test it, and Improve it based on what you learned!
Cardboard base (about 4" × 6" — cereal box works great!)
4 bottle caps or cardboard wheels
2 straws or wooden skewers (for axles)
Paper (for sails — different sizes/shapes)
Tape (masking or clear)
1 drinking straw (for sail mast)
🏠 Household Items to Gather
Small electric fan (or hair dryer on cool setting)
Measuring tape or ruler (to measure distance traveled)
Smooth surface for testing (kitchen floor, table, smooth carpet)
Optional: markers/crayons to decorate wagons
📋 Printables
Student Worksheet (included at end of lesson)
Pencils/crayons for recording
🔬 Let's Get Started
Step 1 — The Engineering Design Process (5 min)
Introduce the challenge: "Today you're not just scientists — you're engineers. Engineers solve problems by designing and building things."
Show them the Engineering Design Cycle:
❓ASK
💭IMAGINE
📝PLAN
🔨CREATE
🧪TEST
✨IMPROVE
Say: "Today's problem: Build a wagon that can move using only the wind."
Step 2 — ASK: What's the Problem? (3 min) "What do we need our wind wagon to do?"
It needs to roll on wheels
It needs to catch the wind
It needs to move forward when the fan blows on it
Write these "requirements" on their Student Worksheet (page 2).
Each child draws their wagon design in the planning box
Ask: "What shape sail will catch the most wind? Big or small? Tall or wide?"
Let them imagine wild ideas! No wrong answers yet
Siblings can share ideas with each other (but each builds their own)
💡 Sibling tip: Encourage teamwork in planning, but each child builds their own wagon. This way they can race them later and compare designs!
Step 4 — CREATE: Build Time! (15 min)
Build the chassis: Attach wheels to the cardboard base using straws as axles (poke straws through, add caps on ends, tape in place)
Add the sail: Tape a straw (mast) standing upright on the wagon. Attach paper as the sail
Test as you go: Does it roll smoothly? Is the sail attached?
Let kids experiment! If the wheel falls off, that's part of engineering — fix it and try again
Step 5 — TEST: Does It Work? (5 min)
Place wagons on a smooth surface
Turn on the fan behind the wagon (or blow on the sail)
Does it move? How far?
Measure distance traveled with a ruler (record in notebook)
Siblings can test at the same time — make it a race!
Key question: "Did your wagon do what you wanted? Why or why not?"
Step 6 — IMPROVE: Make It Better (8 min) "Good engineers always try to make their designs better. What could you change?"
Ideas to try:
Bigger sail? Smaller sail?
Move the sail forward or backward on the wagon?
Make the wagon lighter (cut holes in the base)?
Different sail shape (triangle, square, rectangle)?
Let kids make one change, then test again. Did it go farther? Record the new distance.
Step 7 — Share & Celebrate! (4 min)
Each child shows their final wagon
Explain: "What did you change to make it better?"
Race the wagons side-by-side — which went farther?
Celebrate both designs! Each one teaches something
💬 Discussion Questions
🗣️ Talk about these together:
Is wind a push or a pull? How do you know?
What made your wagon go farther — a big sail or a small sail? Why?
What was the hardest part of building your wagon?
If you could build it again, what would you do differently?
Where do people use wind to push things in real life? (Sailboats, windmills, kites, wind turbines…)
What would happen if you put the sail on backwards? Let's try it.
🚀 Extensions
💨 Different Wind Strengths: Test your wagon with a gentle breeze (blow softly) vs. strong wind (fan on high). How does force strength change motion?
⛰️ Uphill Challenge: Can your wind wagon go up a ramp? Build a small ramp from a book and test it!
🏁 Obstacle Course: Set up a course with tape lines. Can you steer your wagon through "gates" by angling the fan?
🎨 Decorate & Name: Give your wind wagon a name and decorate it with markers. Make it look like a pirate ship, race car, or spaceship!
📚 Read Aloud:"The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires (great engineering growth mindset story!) or "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty
👩🏫 Parent/Teacher Notes
Embrace failure: This is engineering. Wheels will fall off. Sails will flop over. That's good. Say: "Uh oh, what went wrong? How can we fix it?" Failure is data.
Let them struggle (a little): Don't build it for them. Guide with questions: "What do you think would happen if…?" "How could you attach that differently?"
Sibling dynamics: If one child's wagon works better, celebrate it but don't make it a competition. Say: "Wow, what did they do differently? Can we learn from that?"
Wheels are tricky: Bottle caps on straws work, but they need to spin freely. If wagons don't roll, help debug: Are wheels stuck? Is tape blocking them? Is the surface too rough?
Wind direction matters: Make sure the fan blows from behind the wagon. If kids point the fan at the sail from the front, it might blow the wagon backward.
Time management: If you're short on time, skip the improvement step or let kids make their changes at the same time as testing.
Assessment: Did each child complete a design, build something, test it, and explain one change they made? That's success. The wagon doesn't need to be perfect — the process is the learning.
Challenge: Build a wagon that moves using only wind!
What must my wagon do?
Roll on wheels: ___________
Catch the wind: ___________
Move forward: ___________
💭 IMAGINE & 📝 PLAN: Draw Your Design
Label your parts: wheels, sail, mast, body
🧪 TEST: How Did It Do?
Test #1 (First Try)
Test #2 (After Improvement)
Distance traveled:
___________ inches/feet
Did it work? YES / NO
Distance traveled:
___________ inches/feet
Did it work better? YES / NO
✨ IMPROVE: What Did You Change?
🎉 Draw Your Final Wind Wagon!
✂️ PARENT ANSWER KEY — Detach before giving worksheet to students
🎯 What to Expect: Common Results & Challenges
✅ What Usually Works
⚠️ Common Problems
Bigger sails catch more wind (but too big = falls over!)
Lightweight wagons move farther with less resistance
Wheels that spin freely — not taped too tight
Smooth surfaces (tile, hardwood) work better than carpet
Sail perpendicular to wind — facing the fan directly
Wheels don't spin → Tape blocking them or straw too tight
Wagon tips over → Sail too heavy/tall, or base too narrow
Doesn't move → Sail too small, or surface too rough (carpet)
Rolls backward/sideways → Wheels not aligned straight, or fan at wrong angle
Sail falls off → Not enough tape, or mast too wobbly
💡 Troubleshooting Tips for Parents
If wheels won't spin: Make sure the straw axle can rotate freely. Use a pencil to poke bigger holes if needed. Don't tape the wheels to the axle — tape the axle to the wagon body.
If wagon tips over: Make the base wider, move the sail lower, or make the sail smaller. Physics lesson: low center of gravity = more stable!
If it won't move at all: Check surface (smooth is better), check that fan is strong enough, or make the wagon lighter (cut weight from the base).
Sail shape experiments: Square vs. triangle vs. rectangle — all work! Let kids discover that sail AREA matters more than shape.
Improvement ideas: If they're stuck, suggest: "What if you made the sail bigger? What if you made the wagon lighter by cutting a hole in the middle?"
📐 Engineering Concepts Covered
Force & Motion: Wind (moving air) pushes the sail, which pushes the wagon
Iterative Design: Test → Learn → Improve → Test again (this is how real engineering works!)
