Pringles Ring STEM Challenge: Build a Perfect Circle!
- Erin Ewens Brown
- Jul 26, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 3, 2024
Are you ready to put your building skills to the test in this fun, exciting engineering challenge? It's time to build a Pringles ring! Learn about balance, how different structures are created and how strong they are. Plus, the best part of this challenge is that you’ll get to snack on your delicious Pringles once you’re finished.
Let's get building and see if we can make a self-standing ring out of Pringles!
Materials Needed
● One can of Pringles per person (you can use a generic brand)
● A flat and stable surface
● Lots of patience
Instructions
Choose Your Workspace - Find a flat, stable surface to build your Pringle ring. You need a sturdy base for our challenge, a table or countertop works well and will give you plenty of space. Make sure your space is bump proof so you don't knock over your structure.
Open Your Pringles - Let's start by carefully opening our can of Pringles, you will need whole, unbroken chips for this challenge so it’s important not to break any. Gently pour out the Pringles onto your workspace.
Getting started- Begin by placing one Pringles chip flat on the surface. Which way up you place your potato chip is up to you, but remember this will be the base of your ring. Build up a solid base, or foundation. A strong foundation will help hold the structure stable and prevent broken chips. Consider these questions: How will the base of your ring be able to support the top? How will layering your chips in a certain pattern affect the result? What can you try if your first attempt doesn’t work?
4. Adding More Chips - Now we need to keep adding more chips and start building up our ring. It's important to slightly overlap each chip you add. The curve of the Pringles will help them press against each other. Keep adding chips to form a slightly upward angle and see the start of your circular structure.
5. Continue Building - As you add more chips, you’ll notice the structure starting to curve upwards and round forming a ring. Remember to be patient and take your time to balance each chip carefully otherwise the whole ring might collapse. Keep overlapping each chip to provide strength to your ring. If a chip falls, don’t get discouraged. Try again, you can do it!
6. Completing the Circle - Continue adding chips until you complete your ring. The last part may be a little bit tricky but keep calm and experiment with slightly different angles when placing your chips. Once your ring is complete, stand back and admire your work! You'll see here that one of our builders used more layers in her base, while the other used less. It is fun to test various options and see what is possible!
We had fun stretching the engineering further by adding the remaining chips from the Pringles can to the top of the circle to see if the structure could hold the additional weight and it did! We were able to use every single chip!
Congratulations!
By using balance and careful engineering, you have just created an amazing 3D Pringles structure. This activity has taught you the importance of balance, structure, and most of all, patience. Remember this challenge when you face other new, tricky situations and think that the key to success is perseverance and a willingness to try again.