Santa's Got a Brand New Sleigh: Our QUEST "ZOME" Challenge

"ZOME" is a very versatile construction kit/system that we love to use for specialized design and construction problem-solving challenges. This week, most of our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders participated in a very season-appropriate challenge. : )

Here's how it was presented:

Santa has been riding the same-old sleigh for years and years, but he’s decided it’s time for an upgrade! He needs a sleigh that will last for the next 100 years, so he wants the brightest young minds of the next century—you—to help him design it.

Here’s your job: use the ZOME construction pieces to create a model of Santa’s new sleigh. Plan and build carefully, though, because your sleigh will be judged and scored on the following criteria:

·    Name (10 pts)Give your sleigh a catchy, original name.

·    Stability (20 pts)Santa’s sleigh has been known to bump into chimneys and rooftops and even crash into trees now and then. Your sleigh should be able to handle some basic bumps and thumps. Mr. Koch will “bump test” it.

·    Strength (??? Pts)Santa piles a lot of toys onto his sleigh. The new design has to handle a lot of weight. Mr. Koch will test the strength with a bucket of gram weights. You’ll get a point for every gram it can handle without bending or breaking.

·    Aerodynamics (15 pts)Santa has a lot of ground to cover and speed is of the essence. Your design should make it easy to go fast through the air.

•   Holiday Flair (10 pts)It is Santa’s ride, after all, so it should have some flavor    of the holidays.

And this is how they used ingenuity, creativity and design to meet the challenge:

"HO-licopter"

"Santa's Ornament Airplane"

"NYAN Cat"

"Toy Tanker"

"Snowflake Truck"

"Snowflake Sleigh"

"Dynamic Deliverer"

"Eve XL"

"S.S. Power"

"Santa's Savior Sleigh"

"S.S. Santa"

"Gift Giver 2000"

"Santa Bear's Jingle Bell Sleigh"

"Faster Caster 3000"

"Death Sleigh of Awesomeness"

"Present Box 2000"

"Candy Cane Coach"

"Snowball Sleigh"

"The HO-HO Hoboes"



"Hanukkah Sleigh"



"The Jingle Wringle"

"Oh, Christmas Tree"

"Pokesleigh"




"Dasher 64"




"Rocket Sleigh 44"




"Jingle Sledder"