No-Hands Cup Stacking Challenge
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□ CTE Competencies Mastered
This project develops real-world workplace readiness skills aligned with Virginia CTE expectations and modern STEM learning.
□ VA Workplace Readiness Skills
- ✔️ Demonstrate a positive work ethic
- ✔️ Demonstrate integrity
- ✔️ Demonstrate teamwork skills
- ✔️ Demonstrate self-representation skills
- ✔️ Demonstrate diversity awareness
- ✔️ Demonstrate conflict-resolution skills
- ✔️ Demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness
□ Professional Knowledge & Skills
- ✔️ Effective speaking and listening
- ✔️ Effective reading and writing
- ✔️ Critical-thinking and problem-solving
- ✔️ Healthy behaviors and safety
- ✔️ Understanding workplace systems and climate
- ✔️ Lifelong-learning skills
- ✔️ Job-acquisition and advancement skills
- ✔️ Time, task, and resource management
- ✔️ Job-specific mathematics skills
- ✔️ Customer-service skills
⚙️ STEM & Engineering Thinking
- ✔️ Describe the engineering design process
- ✔️ Apply problem-solving through design
- ✔️ Use iteration and redesign strategies
- ✔️ Collaborate through hands-on STEM tasks
□ No Hands Cup Stacking Challenge
A team-based STEM challenge focused on communication, problem-solving, and engineering design using tension and coordination.
□ Grading Breakdown (200 Points Total)
- 100 Points: Participation in the challenge
- 100 Points: Completion of review questions
- -100 Points (ALL TEAM MEMBERS): If ANYONE touches the cups!
□ Materials
- 10 feet of string
- 5 rubber bands
- 6 cups
□ Challenge Instructions
The challenge is for the group to build a pyramid out of the paper cups (3 on the bottom, 2 in the middle, 1 on the top). This can be adjusted for more cups.
Group members cannot touch the cups with their hands or any other part of their bodies, even if a cup falls over or on the floor.
Each person holds onto one of the strings attached to the rubber band. The team must use this device to pick up the cups and place them on top of each other by pulling the rubber band apart and then bringing it back together over the cups.
□ Submission Instructions
- Take a picture of your stacked cups when complete
- Insert the photo into a Google Document
- Include the names of all group members
- Each group member must copy and answer the questions below
- Answer in complete phrases
- Submit to Google Classroom
*Make sure you submit a photo of your 6 cups stacked with your team.
□ Reflection Questions
- What was your plan to solve this problem? Explain how you brainstormed how to complete the problem?
- Did the group select your idea to solve this problem?
- Was anyone frustrated at all during the activity? If so, how was it handled?
- What did you learn about yourself or others?
- Why was teamwork so important for this activity?
- What is so hard about teamwork?
- What did you do today to contribute to the teamwork on your team?
- What are some skills needed to be good at teamwork?
- Are you ever in a situation where you must use teamwork? Is this always easy for you? Why or why not?
- How can we use what we learned through this experience in situations outside the game?
- How long did it take to stack the 6 cups? Or did you fail to complete the activity?
□ Must-Have STEM & Team Building Supplies
Stock your classroom, lab, or workshop with high-impact tools that support engineering design, teamwork challenges, prototyping, and hands-on STEM learning.
Plastic Cups (Bulk)
Perfect for STEM challenges like cup stacking and engineering builds.
Rubber Bands
Essential for tension systems, automata, and engineering challenges.
String / Cord
Used in teamwork challenges, pulley systems, and design builds.
Wood Dowels
Great for axles, levers, and structural engineering projects.
Basswood Sheets
Ideal for prototyping, automata, and architectural models.
Cardboard Building Kits
Perfect for fast, low-cost STEM prototyping and iteration.
Hot Glue Gun Kits
Fast assembly tool for building and prototyping structures.
Masking Tape
Mark boundaries, hold builds, and organize workspace.
Measuring Tapes
Essential for precision and measurement-based STEM tasks.
Stopwatches
Add urgency and competition to challenges and builds.
Engineering Notebooks
Document designs, iterations, and problem-solving steps.
Gears & Pulleys Kits
Introduce motion, force, and mechanical advantage.
STEM Building Kits (LEGO Style)
Hands-on engineering, coding, and design thinking.
Team Building Games
Build communication, leadership, and collaboration skills.
Whiteboard & Markers
Sketch ideas, plan builds, and collaborate visually.