By putting their engineering skills to the test, students at Forest Lake and Mandalay elementary schools got to make themselves part of popular holiday tale. Children were tasked with a fun building project to aid in the escape of the Gingerbread Man.

In their STEAM classes with teacher Alexa DelPiano, third, fourth and fifth graders had to construct a boat to help the Gingerbread Man get across the water. In the first of two sessions, students studied the buoyancy of different materials and drew up blueprints in their engineering notebooks. During the second class, it was time to build and test their creations. Supplies they worked with included aluminum foil, construction paper, duct tape, pipe cleaners, straws and wooden sticks.

Once the boats were constructed, they brought them over to a tub of water to see if they floated. If the paper Gingerbread Man placed a top stayed dry, the project was a success. Just like professional engineers, students were given the opportunity to make improvements to their designs.