In 4th grade, I set up a room transformation for Pizza Planet. I only teach in the STEAM room a couple hours a week, so I couldn't set everything up the way I wanted to, but for a 45-minute set up, I would say it wasn't too bad! The reaction the kids gave when they walked in and saw the lights off, laser lights on, and the decorations around the room was great. It is amazing how some lighting, poster board, and a giant pizza float can change the environment.
For the STEAM challenge, students had to complete Lookout Tower Missions. They had to build towers with popsicle sticks and then see how many items (aliens, army men, or monkeys) could balance on their tower. They had building requirements for each mission (base shape/height), and that seemed to be the most challenging part of the activity. The struggle was real for awhile before students began to have many forward fails in how they could stack the clothespins. Once the got the hang of it, it was simply meeting the height requirement and then trying to balance the objects on the tower without knocking it over. This was definitely a challenge for them, but so worth the productive struggle!