Underground Engineering Activity

During the summer we set up an activity table in the children's area.  We feature a different activity to try each week, and kids who complete the activity are rewarded with an extra raffle ticket for a chance at one of the big summer reading prizes.  This week our featured activity is a hands-on building project using PVC pipes.

We took PVC pipes, cut them into manageable pieces, and sanded the edges.  We put the pipes into a bin with some connector pieces and asked the kids to put the pipes together to design a plumbing system.  As a way of counting participation in this passive program, we also asked the kids to draw a picture showing us the system they designed, which they could turn in to us in exchange for a raffle ticket.  The kids have really enjoyed this engineering activity.  Some of them would truly spend hours building with the pipes if they could.