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Ancient Civilizations

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

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Today, I have gathered 11 easy hands-on Ancient Egypt project ideas for middle school. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

Learning about Ancient Egypt should be both fun and interactive during the middle school ages.

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

It’s not time to give up the fun at any age of learning.

1. Make Mud Bricks.

Look at this fun Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids. With minimal material, most of which you have around the house, your middle school child will love making these mud bricks.

Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

2. Build a LEGO Math Calculator.

Next, look at this math slant project while studying about Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian Mathematics: Build a LEGO Math Calculator is a fun middle school project.

Studying about jewelry from Ancient Egypt doesn’t have to be hard. Look at this Fun Hands-On History: Ancient Egyptian Collar Craft.

3. Create an Ancient Egyptian Collar

One of the most famous forms of jewelry worn by the ancient Egyptians was the Usekh collar. 

Rich Egyptians often wore these broad necklaces on a daily basis and this collar craft is a fun way to understand about Egyptian necklaces.

Then to add a bit of art and drawing, your middle school child will love Ancient Egypt Civilization (Hands-on History): King Narmer Crown.

4. Mold a painting of the Ancient Egypt Double Crown

After all studying about the double crown and the significance to Ancient Egypt can be hard to understand. This easy hands-on project helps learning facts stick.

Projects for Middle School About Ancient Egypt

5. Play the Snake Game

In addition, I created this fun and Free Ancient Egypt Mehen Printable Board Game (Hands-on History) based on the popular snake game played by the Egyptians.

However, we really loved doing the Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods .

Not only did we enjoy many hands-on learning activities, but love learning about Upper and Lower Egypt, the maps and the printable activities. My post Ancient Egypt Homeschool Unit Study – Hands-on and FUN! has numerous activities in Project Passport.

6. Travel Egypt Without Leaving Your Home

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

Also, add in a few more hands-on fun ideas like this Birdcage Ancient Egypt Go Fish game.

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

7. Prepare cardboard Egyptian Pillars

And another Ancient Egypt project for middle school is to have your child prepare these beautiful smokin’ hot Egyptian cardboard pillars.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt Middle School Activities

At the end of our unit study co-op our group made these cardboard pillars; your crafty middle school kid will love doing them for a prop or drama your group has.

8. Tie in Ancient Egypt with Astronomy Notebooking Page

Furthermore, some middle school children will love a science tie in with Ancient Egypt like learning about ancient astronomy. Look at my post Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages.

Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages

These notebooking pages are subscriber freebies.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my Exclusive Subscriber’s Only Library which has these notebooking pages in the library.

This is how you get access to these pages quickly.
 1) Sign up on my list to follow me by email.
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Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages

9. Study Ancient Egypt Alongside Other Ancient Empires.

This next Ancient Egypt project for middle school is to make an in depth study of Ancient Empires. We used Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Wood.

Some children need to see the key players or empires of history at one time and need a longer project to retain focus.

Moving too fast studying ancient history and a child may not understand key time periods. It’s important for key history hooks to be made so that all other learning can be tied to history makers.

Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Woods covers fourteen empires:

  • Ancient China
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Ancient Greece
  • Ancient Rome
  • Arab-Muslims,
  • English Empire
  • French Empire
  • Mongols
  • Russian Empire
  • Spanish Empire
  • United States and
  • Viking.
  • German Empire
  • Japanese Empire
11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

Another easy activity Hands-On History: The Rosetta Stone and Breaking The Code is really a fun introduction to learning about ancient history.

10. Break the Code of the Rosetta Stone.

If you find that your child doesn’t really know anything about why we know some about ancient history, begin with learning about the Rosetta Stone. Your code breakers will love to learn about breaking the code.

Rosetta Stone Making a Code

As well including your young kids can be tough. So, if you want to include your younger kids or if your middle school child loves to still color, you’ll love this set of Ancient color pages to go along with your studies.

20 Ancient Civilization History Coloring Pages at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. You'll love adding these to your unit studies or notebooking.

We have used various museum quality history coloring books through the years that have made a big difference in how my boys understood history in the early years.

I think clip art should be as real as possible and based on real events in history.

Learning Ancient History Through Coloring

Instead of me adding titles on pages or naming the coloring pages, this allows you to use the clip art/coloring pages any way you want to.

Whether it is a cover page, notebooking page, journal page or just to enrich a topic, you have the flexibility.

Here is what the 20 page download contains. I put a few key words to explain each picture on the page. This way you can use the coloring pages as title pages too on your lapbooks.

Page 3: Ancient Egypt Court,
Page 4: Ancient Egypt Spinning,
Page 5: Ancient Egypt Life of the Royals,
Page 6: Ancient Egypt Battles,
Page 7: Ancient Egypt The Nile,
Page 8: Life Along the River – The Nile,
Page 9: Metal Workers & Crafts of Ancient Egypt,
Page 10: Egyptian Hieroglyphics,
Page 11: Egyptian Queen Cleopatra,

Page 12: Aztecs Floating Gardens
Page 13: Aztecs,
Page 14: Aztec Life,
Page 15: Mayans,
Page 16: Ancient Greece Wedding,
Page 17: Ancient Greek Galley,
Page 18: Ancient Greece Crafts,
Page 19: Ancient Greece Bank,
Page 20: Athens,
Page 21: Spartan Warrior and
Page 22: The Vikings.

Grab your fun copy below!

Finally, you know my love for hands-on tools like lapbooks. No, they’re not just for younger children.

Middle school children really benefit from them as well. And the best part is that the lapbook can be as crafty or not as your child wants it to be.

11. Craft a Pharaohs and Queens Ancient Egypt lapbook.

And I really make it easy here for you because I have this free Famous Pharaohs and Queens of Egypt lapbook.

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

What do you think? Are you ready to tackle these 11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School?

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

And be sure you visit these middle school activities:

How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This week we created our own ceremonial African tribal mask after doing some research about their uses and how they are made. Also, look at my post Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports.

We have been studying all about Africa, it’s customs, weather, regions, zoology, peoples, and geography.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

This project we are sharing with you today is perfect for mid elementary up through middle school.

Tribal masks play very important roles in many traditional African ceremonies and rituals even in these modern times.

Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Some symbolize totem animals, others are representative of tribal mythology, they are believed to help communicate and convey messages to spirits.

Some masks are made and used in times of peace and also in times of war, and to ensure good harvests. 

They are worn for weddings, funerals, and initiation rites of passage.

Mask making is an art that is passed from father to son in African culture.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Too, if you are studying Africa with any depth, this is a project that you definitely want to focus on.

How to Make an African Paper Mask

You learn history, but also the culture of certain regions; your child gets a glimpse into the artwork which these interesting peoples create and consider important to their culture.

First, gather these easy supplies. Here is what you will need to create your own mask.

  • Scrapbook/Construction paper
  • Glue 
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Hole punch
  • Paint, brushes
  • Raffia/twine
  • paint/paintbrush
How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Directions:

Crease a full sheet of  sturdy paper right down the center, this will be the main piece of your mask.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

On one side pencil in a large mask shape. If you have already done some research you should have an idea of what type of mask you would like.

Masks are usually shaped like a human face or animal muzzle, but very abstract.

Kids’ African Mask

We are going with a commonly seen elongated face shape that is symmetrical and it gives me a chance to reintroduce and review what symmetrical means with the kids.

Cut out both sides at the same time following the half shape you drew.

When decorating tribal masks many elements are used like shells, horns, feathers, broken egg shells, seeds, straw, and animal hair.

Cut out your elements like the nose, ears, and eyes from neutral colored paper, which are the colors most commonly chosen in Africa. 

While size and shapes are exaggerated, they are still pretty simple.

To make your features symmetrical, fold your paper in half like you did the poster board. Only draw half the shape on one side, but cut out of both side on the fold. 

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Start with the nose, eyes, and ears and build up with decoration from there.

Again if you are cutting one piece like a nose, fold it in half, draw the shape, and cut it out.

How to Make Tribal Masks with Paper

If you are cutting two pieces like eyes just cut through two pieces of paper at the same time so that they are the exact same size and shape.

Next, glue all your elements into place, remember to place your pencil line side face down so you don’t see it.

How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

To create the hair and beard details, we punched holes along the edges where we wanted them and knotted twine through the holes.

If you knot it like a regular knot the ties will go out sideways.

How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

If you want it to stick straight up and down, fold your length of string in half and push the loop through the hole you made.

African Mask Ideas for Kids

Too, if you’re looking to add Art History to your curriculum, we love Art History Kids.

Goal of Art History Kids

  • To introduce kids to art.
  • Let them come to their own conclusions.
  • And, encourage their own individual creativity.
How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Then, slide the other two ends through the loop and pull firmly but gently.

Add some final details with paint, like the dots we did here.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

We used the back end of the brush to create round uniform dots to give our mask some additional texture and interest.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

If your child enjoys more sensory input you can also use fingertips to add paint to the mask.

Allow your creation to dry, you can either leave it as it is or glue the mask to a sturdier piece of cardboard or poster board to display and keep it longer.

Learning the Culture of Africa Through Picture Books

If you want to make this a fun unit study topic about world cultures, you’ll love the study guide notes and coloring pictures by Beautiful Feet Literature.

Although these guides state they’re for your younger kids, I think picture books are wonderful for all ages. Who doesn’t love pictures?

Additionally, look at these picture book options below.

Part One covers Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

This Around the World With Picture Books Part Two covers Europe and South America.

Lastly, if you want to expand on your Africa study no matter if you are using a box curriculum or if you are doing a simple interest led study here are some ideas that you and your child can try…

African Geography and Culture Homeschool Unit Study Ideas

  • List the different countries with Africa in alphabetical order. This is great practice for learning alphabetical order but also geography, handwriting, vocabulary, and spelling. I am a big fan of activities that cover more than one skill.
  • Dig deeper by researching what various masks and their elements represent and what regions they are from.
  • Create several different masks representing different areas or traditions.
  • Families with one or more children can create an art show with African art to share with friends and family.
  • Research other cultures and countries that wear masks, what are they worn for?
  • Visit a local museum with an Africa exhibit to see relics or replicas first hand.

Watch this documentary on PBS about an African Mask Collection. 

You’ll love these other hands-on activities:

Are you studying about Africa? What activities have you been doing?

Hugs and love ya,

Quick and Easy Ancient Chinese Paper making for Kids

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

You’ll love this quick and easy ancient China paper making activity. Also, look at my post Free Ancient China Lapbook for Kids Who Love Hands-on History.

Did you know that the smooth white paper you write on everyday got its start in Ancient China right around 100 BC during the Han Dynasty?

Prior to the invention of paper as we know it there was papyrus and parchment  that people could write on, but it was expensive and very difficult to make.

In China expensive silk was also used but that was reserved for only the very wealthy.

That means that it was not readily available to everyone.

Did you know that the smooth white paper you write on everyday got its start in Ancient China? Your kids will love this quick and easy Ancient Chinese paper making activity. CLICK HERE to add this fun hands-on history project to your homeschool curriculum!

Its invention meant that people of all economic backgrounds could learn and write.

Because it absorbed ink, forgery was harder and it made carrying a book so much easier! Just a stack of paper sheets is much lighter than carrying a dozen hand chiseled tablets across town. Teachers had to be smart and strong!

Ancient China Paper Making

Plant fibers and rags were soaked in water until they became a pulpy mush then they were mashed and pressed onto screens in different sizes so that the water could drain off.

Once dry the paper was much lighter and easier to use than its heavier ancestor.

Since bamboo and other plant fibers are not as readily available to us as it was in 100 BC we are going to improvise with our own paper making and use supplies that we have on hand so that we can still get an idea of the paper making process.

Chinese Paper Making Activity

For this activity you will need:

  • newspaper
  • art paper or construction paper
  • water
  • Hardware screen/window screen
  • wood/frame
  • a blender
  • plastic tub
Ancient China Paper Making

You can buy paper making screens or you can make a simple one like we did here, by making a simple frame of wood scraps and stapling a square of hardware cloth to the back.

You could also do the same with a piece of window screen and the backside of a picture frame.

Tear your paper into smaller pieces, about 1” square.

Now we are going to hurry along our paper dissolving process by adding water and paper to a blender.

Ancient China Paper Making

Run the blender until you get a nice watery pulp, add water as needed to make sure it purees up well, you can’t have too much water as it will drip off. 

I used white drawing paper and one small piece of blue construction paper to get a very light blue shade.

In ancient China this process would have been done by a long soak of bark, hemp, bamboo, and other plant materials rather than a blender!

Ancient China Paper Making

Lay the frame in a tub large enough to hold it and pour the mixture from the blender onto the screen, flatten it out with your fingers so that it is as smooth as you can get it.

Chinese Paper Making Activity

The trick is to pour slowly and move it rather than pouring a giant pile in the center.

Ancient China Paper Making

Let most of the water drain off your screen until it is just a slow drip then carefully flip your screen to release the paper onto an absorbent surface, I used a sheet of craft felt for mine.

Ancient China Paper Making

Press a stack of several paper towels or napkins on top and press to absorb some of the water.

Place a block of wood on top and press or even stand on it to press it flat and squeeze more water out. Allow your paper to dry completely- it may take a day or two depending on how much water is left in your paper at this point as well as the humidity in your area.

Once your paper is completely dry you can trim it with scissors if you like to make it a more uniform shape. Still not flat enough?

Lay it under a couple of heavy books for a few days and it will be smooth and flat for your writing.

Ancient China Paper Making

Use a small paintbrush to paint a few basic Chinese characters as part of your studies.

Did you know that the smooth white paper you write on everyday got its start in Ancient China? Your kids will love this quick and easy Ancient Chinese paper making activity. CLICK HERE to add this fun hands-on history project to your homeschool curriculum!

Experiment with different types and colors of paper, brown paper bags make a nice parchment style paper, add a little color, and cut some into various shapes.

Ancient China Paper Making

More Ancient China Hands-on History Activities for Kids

Did you know that the smooth white paper you write on everyday got its start in Ancient China? Your kids will love this quick and easy Ancient Chinese paper making activity. CLICK HERE to add this fun hands-on history project to your homeschool curriculum!

Ancient China Paper Making Fun Facts

  • Paper making hasn’t changed much in all these years, basically the process is the same with new technologies and methods added in.
  • China tried to keep the art of paper making a secret but it eventually spread.
  • A Chinese government official, Ts’ ai  Lun, is credited with starting the paper making industry.
  • It was another 1000 years before paper making spread into other parts of Eurasia.
  • The original paper making was originally done with mainly hemp.
  • The oldest record of paper making that we have is dated 105 AD.
  • Combined with the invention of woodblock printing in 600 AD China was able to print its first newspaper in 740 AD.
  • How To Make Paper Look Old Craft With Kids
Ancient China Paper Making

You’ll love some of these other fun hands-on Ancient Civilization kids activities:

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This mud bricks for kids activity is fun. Also, look at my Ancient Civilization page for more Egyptian activities

Stone building was reserved for monuments. But other places the ancient Egyptians wanted to last forever.

However, basic buildings were constructed of brick.

For example,homes, tombs, palaces,and protective walls in Ancient Egypt were constructed of brick.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Prior to making bricks soil was used. However it was not very sturdy.

Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn’t just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks.

Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work.

So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with.

They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls.

Mud Bricks for Kids

The first thing the Israelites had to do was gather sand, clay, and silt from the Nile.

The soil from the Nile River when dried became a black hard stone like substance, making for sturdy bricks.

Since we are not able to take a trip to the Nile River to gather our supplies, we are going to improvise and use materials that we can easily get our hands on.

You are going to need: topsoil, straw, water, and clay if you can easily get some.

Oh, and something to use as a mold. You can make mini bricks with an ice cube tray if you would actually like to construct a model of something using your bricks.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Or if you want to see a full sized brick you can make molds with wood, as the Israelite slaves did, or use something like a small square or rectangle pans.

We used a silicone soap mold we had from another project for ours.

Ancient Egypt – Israelites Mud Bricks

If your straw is larger you will want to chop it into small bits. Straw was a binder. It made the bricks even sturdier.

This is straw chaff.

I found these little straw bundles at the craft store but you can also find hay or straw at a feed store, or ask a friend with livestock for a a few handfuls.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Sometimes, they even used animal droppings to construct their bricks (we are gonna skip that part with our brick making).

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Next, the Israelites had to work the mud and straw together.

They did this by trampling it with their feet to mix it up consistently.

Place your soil, straw and water in a large tub and try to mix it together the same way they did.

Ancient Egypt Kids Activity

Add just enough water so that your soil will hold together.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

This will help your bricks dry faster.

 The average size of bricks in Ancient Egypt was 8.7 x 4.3 x 5.5,.

Larger bricks were about 15.0 x 7.1 x5.5.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

You can make your bricks any size you like.Remove the mud mixture from the tub and place it in your molds, press firmly into the mold to remove air bubbles.

Then, let it sit in the full sun for 1 day or until it is mostly dry.

At this point they would remove it from the mold and let it finish drying in the sun out of the mold.

Do the same with yours. Israelites left theirs to dry in the sun for 25 days.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids. Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn’t just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks. Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work. So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with. They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls. CLICK here to make this fun diy mud bricks!

If you make smaller bricks they will obviously dry much faster.

Later on in history the bricks would be baked in a kiln to hasten drying time.

Once your brick is completely dry it is ready to be used for construction!

Think you could make 1000 to 2000 bricks a day? That is what the ancient Israelite slaves were required to do.

You’ll also love this huge Ancient Egypt lapbook and unit study from Home School in the Woods – one of my favorite hands-on history providers.

It would take an average of 5 days of brick making in order to have enough bricks to construct a small one story home for the worker.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Here are a few more interesting facts about mud bricks and the ancient Israelites…

  • Houses were built using mud bricks. Then, they were whitewashed to help deflect the brutal sun’s rays and keep the inside of the home more comfortable. Windows were placed high rather than lower like in modern homes to keep sand out and covered with reed mats. The roofs were flat.
  • While these bricks were sturdy, they were not able to stand the test of time. And that is why most of the remaining ancient Egyptian buildings that we have been able to study were made from stone rather than these mud bricks which eventually wore away.
  • Mud bricks were stamped with the cartouches of the reigning pharaoh. While many were lost some bricks still bear the stamp.
  • Israelite slave children as young as 4 were used to help make mud bricks.
  • While smaller bricks were more common they have discovered mud bricks that were as large as 1 meter in length.
Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

You’ll love these other hands-on ideas for studying about Ancient Egypt:

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids. Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn’t just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks. Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work. So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with. They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls. CLICK here to make this fun diy mud bricks!

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, we’re making an Ancient Viking ship. Also, look at my page more Vikings Lapbook Unit Study. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

We’ve been learning so much about early explorers such as the Vikings.

From reading fun books to STEM projects, this Viking Unit gave us a vast insight to where exploration began and helped set the stage for the Age of Exploration.

Studying the Vikings is not a standard that is mandated by our state, but I still wanted the kids to be interested in these explorers who were instrumental in changing the world.

There are many options for studying about the Vikings, but my love for hands-on learning drove me to find STEM projects to keep my engineering minded kids engaged.

Ancient Viking Ships

Since geography and map skills are important standards to be covered, I made sure to include map activities as well.

I decided to begin our history journey with the Vikings this year, and was able to create a fun, engaging unit in the process!

First, look at some of our favorite books about Vikings.

12 Viking Resources & Books for Multiple Ages

Grab some of these books and resources for multiple ages about Vikings.

Hands-On Viking Unit: Geography

To do this activity you will need the following materials:

  • books about the Vikings (“You Wouldn’t Want to be a Viking Explorer”, “National Geographic Kids Everything Vikings”, Viking (DK Eyewitness Books))
  • blue poster board
  • reference map of the Viking routes
  • pencil
  • black fine tipped marker
  • orange/red/green paint
  • viking ship pattern

You also may want to have something to cover your table during this project.

I like to use Rosen paper from Home Depot. It’s durable enough to withhold spills and can be reused for other art projects.

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 3 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Using a pencil in case of mistakes, we drew out the shapes of the countries onto the blue poster board. When we were satisfied with our outline, we went over it with the black tipped marker.

We then painted the countries to represent the Viking’s homeland and their settlements.

We made a map key and labeled each country

You’ll love this idea too for studying around the world using picture books.

To get some writing into this activity, I had the kids write down some facts about the Vikings on ship templates.  Then we glued them around the poster board.

Because I have engineering minded kids, it’s really hard to not do a whole unit without a STEM project.

To tie a little science into this history unit, we also completed a Viking Ship STEM challenge.

An important aspect to this challenge is researching the history and the anatomy of a Viking ship.

It was important for the kids to realize how the environment and the purpose of the ships affected the way they were designed.

Not only were Vikings barbaric warriors, they also had a mind for engineering.

They truly understood how to mold their engineering designs to fit their need of plundering, raiding and invading their neighbors!

Their ships were such a great design that it’s still in use today!

Hands On Viking Unit: STEM

Hands-On Viking Unit: STEM and Geography

To do this activity you will need the following materials:

  • an image of the anatomy of a Viking ship (there are many resources on the internet.  Just google it.)
  • paper and pencil
  • ruler
  • 8 popsicle sticks
  • 2 straws
  • 1 piece of card stock
  • 2 strips of duct tape
  • stick of modeling clay
  • hot glue
  • scissors
  • markers or paint

The very first step of any type of STEM project should be the blueprint.

After researching and observing the design of a Viking ship, the kids determined how they could use the materials to build their own.

I made sure they drew out their ship, carefully labeling the materials they would use as the parts of their ships.

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 5 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 6 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Next, the kids used the hot glue to build up the design of their ship.With the card stock, markers, straws, and modeling clay, the kids designed their own sails.

Because the Vikings didn’t have a lot of materials in which to choose, I made sure to limit the amount of materials available to build the ships.

The kids got very creative in designing. Another thing I really like to do with STEM projects is to let the kids come up with their own ideas and designs.

I only give hints or ideas when I see them becoming frustrated.

Hands-On Viking Unit: STEM and Geography

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship 7 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

After building, the kids tested out their design.

This is a very important step and one of the most fun!

After careful observation, the kids could see what parts of their ship needed modification.

Also, you’ll love the hands-on ideas from Home School in the Woods.

Hands on Ancient Viking Ship | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Helpful Hints

  • To build the hull, use popsicle sticks and hot glue. Make the bow tall enough so water won’t submerge and sink the ship. The bow and stern should be the same height since Viking designed their ships to travel either way.
  • For the keel, use more popsicle sticks to create and place on the underside of the hull. This should run from bow to stern. The keel counteracts the side to side motion of the ship. Test in water before proceeding.
  • Use a straw and card stock to build a sail and mast. Use modeling clay to attach the mast to the hull.
  • Add ballast if the ship needs more weight. Small amounts of modeling clay works well.
  • Keep modifying! Use a hair dryer to test your ship during a storm. A rudder may be needed to keep the ship on course.
From reading fun books to STEM projects, this Viking Unit gave us a vast insight to where exploration began and helped set the stage for the Age of Exploration.

Look at these other awesome hands-on ideas for studying Ancient Civilizations: