Your Thanksgiving turkey keeps escaping! In this turkey STEM challenge, your kids will need to come up with a turkey cage design to keep the turkey nice and safe.
My kids love the How to Catch series. So we were super excited when we saw that there was a How to Catch a Turkey that is perfect for Thanksgiving!
The premise of the book is that a turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play, and the kids have to help catch it. Don’t worry, no turkey is harmed in the making of this book!
In the spirit of making sure we don’t have any runaway turkeys to trap this Thanksgiving, we took up the Thanksgiving Turkey STEM challenge! We are going to nip the problem of runaway turkeys in the bud and devise a cage to contain our turkeys.
If you want to follow the plot of the How to Catch a Turkey book, you can turn this challenge into a turkey trap project. The same design rules apply, but instead of a cage, you are now building a trap to catch the turkey!
The Thanksgiving season provides the perfect opportunity to engage students in hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning. One of the most creative ways to do this is through designing and building turkey traps. With some simple preparation, this activity can be transformed into an unforgettable learning experience that integrates various academic skills.
What is a Turkey Trap STEM Activity?
A turkey trap STEM challenge presents students with the real-world scenario that they need to catch a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Their task is to design and construct a functional turkey trap using everyday materials like cardboard, tape straws string, pipe cleaners etc.
To ideate, build, and test their traps, students must utilize engineering design skills and processes This inquiry-based project seamlessly integrates numeracy, scientific thinking, literacy, creativity, critical analysis, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving abilities
Why is it an Effective STEM Project?
Designing and creating turkey traps allows students to
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Apply mathematics and science concepts to solve an authentic, real-world problem.
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Exercise their creativity and critical thinking skills to ideate solutions.
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Develop planning, teamwork, and communication abilities.
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Gain perseverance and resilience through testing and troubleshooting different designs.
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Make cross-curricular connections between STEM and other subjects.
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Get intrinsically motivated to trial and refine ideas to meet the challenge of catching a turkey.
Setting Up a Turkey Trap STEM Challenge
Follow these tips to prepare your turkey trap STEM activity:
Choose Materials
Provide a variety of craft supplies like tape, cardboard, string, straws, popsicle sticks etc. Avoid too many options to simplify the design process.
Explain the Scenario
Describe a scenario where students need to build a trap to catch a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
Brainstorm and Plan
Allow time for planning designs individually and collaboratively before building.
Set Parameters
Add challenge by providing size limits, available materials, or other constraints.
Build and Test
Give sufficient time for constructing and testing multiple trap designs.
Reflect and Improve
Have students evaluate traps and suggest modifications to improve performance.
Share and Discuss
Let groups demonstrate trap designs and discuss effectiveness.
Creative Turkey Trap Ideas
Here are some common turkey trap designs to inspire innovation:
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Cage Trap: Build a cage that lures the turkey inside. A door shuts behind to contain it.
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Net Trap: Engineer a pulley system to drop a net onto the turkey. Consider net size and ropes.
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Box and Stick Trap: A box is propped up with a stick. Turkey enters for bait and knocks stick loose.
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Pitfall Trap: Dig a hole and disguise it. Turkey falls in and cannot escape due to high walls.
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Snare Trap: Create a loop that tightens on turkey’s feet when stepped into. Place it strategically over bait.
Setting Up Work Stations
If space allows, set up distinct stations for planning, designing, building, and testing. This enables multiple groups to work simultaneously. Use visual reminders of the engineering process at stations.
Provide clipboards, graph paper, pencils and templates at the planning station to encourage preparation. Monitor use of sharp tools like scissors or craft knives during construction. Keep testing materials like turkey figures near the building station.
Differentiating Instruction
Adapt the activity for diverse learning levels:
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Advanced students get more limiting design constraints.
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Struggling students receive extra planning time or simpler materials.
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Pair up students into roles like materials manager, sketcher, builder etc.
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Allow continual feedback, not just at the end.
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Facilitate peer collaboration and evaluation between groups.
Ideas for Extending the STEM Activity
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Compare designs to real-world traps used by wildlife experts.
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Debate ethical factors around capturing wild animals.
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Write stories from the turkey’s perspective.
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Identify simple machines like levers and pulleys used in the traps.
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Calculate measurements and costs for large-scale traps.
Curriculum Standards Addressed
Designing functional turkey traps allows you to target these educational standards:
Math
- Measurement and Data Analysis
- Geometry
- Mathematical Modeling
Science
- Engineering Design Process
- Forces and Motion
- Structure and Function
Literacy
- Following Instructions
- Presenting Ideas
- Collaborative Discussions
21st Century Skills
- Creativity
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
- Collaboration
Assessing Student Learning
Track growth and learning through:
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Rubrics evaluating planning, construction, testing and teamwork.
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Student reflections on designs, improvements, and concepts learned.
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Peer feedback forms to provide constructive input.
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Discussions and trap demonstrations.
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Teacher observations of engagement, collaboration and skills.
Making it an Engaging Experience
Ensure an exciting turkey trap project by incorporating:
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An intriguing backstory and context.
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Turkey figures for testing designs.
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Fun materials like cardboard, string, straws etc.
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Opportunities for peer collaboration and feedback.
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Trap showcasing and demonstrations.
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Tie-ins to books like “How to Catch a Turkey”.
Through designing and constructing turkey traps, students meaningfully engage in the engineering design process while developing vital STEM abilities. With thoughtful preparation, this activity can be tailored to suit any grade level and transformed into a memorable hands-on learning experience. Empower your students this Thanksgiving with this creative challenge!
Thanksgiving Turkey Cage STEM Challenge Printable
This turkey cage STEM activity sharpens your kids’ problem-solving and engineering skills. You can use it in a classroom with your students or even at a Thanksgiving party to keep the kids entertained while waiting for dinner!
This Thanksgiving STEM activity is designed for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary students. The complete set of printables for this Thanksgiving STEM activity includes:
- Teacher instructions for turkey cage
- Turkeys template
- Student instructions for turkey cage (4 versions)
- Student planning page
- Student self-evaluation sheet
I included 4 versions of the student instruction sheet. The different versions give you the choice of whether or not you want the students to cage the bird for Thanksgiving dinner, or save the bird from being eaten. You also get a choice of whether or not you are holding multiple turkeys in the cage.
You can have your kids work together as a team to come up with the turkey cage, which is great for their collaboration and social skills.
If you are using this Thanksgiving STEM activity in your classroom, make sure to set a time limit for the students to design and build the turkey traps. I recommend giving them about 5-10 minutes for brainstorming and design and then 20 minutes for construction.
Build a Turkey Cage STEM Challenge
- Materials to build the cage, such as mini marshmallows, toothpicks, toilet paper rolls, straws, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, masking tape, etc.
- Free turkey cage challenge template (click on the at the bottom of this post to grab the printable)
1. Determine how many turkeys you would like the cage to hold. We decided to go with 3.
2. Print out the free printable turkeys template, cut out the turkeys, and tape the bottom tabs together. Your turkey(s) should be able to stand on its own.
3. Give your kid materials to build the cage.
I suggest giving him a limited number of materials because too many choices could be overwhelming. You can always repeat the challenge with another set of materials. We used marshmallows and toothpicks for our challenge.
4. Have your child build the cage, jump in to help only if necessary. Let him use his imagination to come up with the cage design!
5. After the cage is finished, test to see if the cage can hold the turkey(s). Ask him what improvements would he implement to the cage, if any.
My kids absolutely love STEM challenges like this because there are very limited restrictions on what they could do. They could use their imagination and creativity to come up with all kinds of cages!
If you decide to use marshmallows and toothpicks like us, here is a potential cage design for holding 3 turkeys.
My kids first started building the cage by constructing a fence around the turkey. They realized that the fence was not very tall and that the turkeys could jump over it.
Then we constructed a roof to the cage so that the turkey couldn’t get out from the top.
When I asked my kids how we could improve this cage, they said that they would like to make it stronger and that it would be nice to have a door for the turkeys to get in and out.
We ended up placing a few more sticks to make the cage more sturdy, but we couldn’t come up with a way to make a cage door. Perhaps next time with different supplies!
How to Catch a Turkey STEM Activity
What is a turkey trap stem activity?
A turkey trap STEM activity presents students with the real-world scenario that they need to catch a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Their challenge is to design and build a working turkey trap using everyday materials like cardboard, tape string pipe cleaners etc.
How do you make a turkey trap for kids?
Here are some common turkey trap designs to spark kids’ creativity: Build a cage with an opening that lures the turkey inside. Once entered, the door shuts behind them. Engineer a pulley system to drop a net on the turkey. Students must figure out net size and rope setup. Simple trap where a stick props up a box.
How long does it take to build a turkey trap?
Give students approximately 30 minutes to build their turkey traps. Sit back and watch as students engage in real-world problem solving! At the end of the activity, be sure to have students describe and demonstrate how their trap works. This activity is always a huge hit with students during the Thanksgiving season!
How do you capture a turkey & waterfowl?
Capture with net cannon, rocket nets, net gun, or drop-net – This technique is widely used for turkey and waterfowl (Dill and Thornsberry 1950). It is required that personnel using any of these devices powered by black powder obtain training and be certified to use the equipment and handle explosives.
Can You Hold 3 turkeys in a cage?
If you decide to use marshmallows and toothpicks like us, here is a potential cage design for holding 3 turkeys. My kids first started building the cage by constructing a fence around the turkey. They realized that the fence was not very tall and that the turkeys could jump over it.
How do you get a Turkey out of a house?
Dig a hole and disguise it. Turkey falls in and walls are too high for them to escape. Make a loop that tightens on the turkey’s feet when entered. Position over food bait. If space permits, set up distinct stations for planning, designing, building, and testing. This allows multiple groups to work at once.