Fun and easy play-based STEAM activity for toddlers, preschool & kindergarten
Fruit Vehicles - Fun engineering & arts activity about structures, engineering & imagination
Activity summary
This is not JUST another engineering activity – it’s a play-based, hands-on STEAM activity. It will keep your children extra engaged & motivated, which helps them learn!
In this activity, your children will be little investigators helping Hoseli the robot
to solve tricky problems and find creative answers to the question: What can you build out of fruit? By doing that, they get to practice concepts like structures, engineering, imagination, healthy eating, and more.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Science, SEL
Adapt for your age group
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For this activity, you need only these simple supplies:
plates
toothpicks
fruits and vegetables
table knives
cutting boards
You can also use
paper and pen
What will your children learn?
Your children will learn to:
Observe different kinds of shapes.
Practice creative engineering by building structures out of fruits.
Compare and classify fruits based upon their features.
Begin to learn about the benefits of a varied, healthy diet.
while practicing these concepts:
structures
engineering
imagination
healthy eating
Instructions
Step 1: Introduce the problem with a story letter
Teacher introducing the reseach problem through the letter that arrived from Supraland
In this play-based activity, your children will lead the investigation as an investigator. When children role play as investigators, they learn so much better! Try starting with a little ‘spin’ to get into character!
Then, they can help Hoseli the robot solve some tricky problems in their new role.
Before the activity, prepare your supplies and print the letter.
Pro tip:
When children play as scientists, they think like scientists. Try using “scientist jackets” to help them really get into character!
When you start the activity, introduce the research problem in the form of a letter that arrived from Supraland where Hoseli the robot lives.
You might be wondering: “Why should I use a story?”
Well, when you introduce a research problem through play and imaginary characters rather than just stating cold facts, children will be extra motivated to solve the problem for their new imaginary friends. Academic research shows this results in increased engagement, better focus, and improved learning outcomes.
You can find the story for this activity below (register for free to print this & many more free activities!).
Hi there scientists!
It's me, Hoseli!
I have invited my friends to come for a snack and they are very, very excited! I have lots of different fruit and vegetables but I want to do something totally different with them as a surprise.
Perhaps I could turn them into something?
I know, I could build a banana rocket which flies to the moon! Or a fruit car with apple rings! Maybe even the tallest fruit skyscraper!
But I don’t know how to build these exciting structures.
Can you become investigators and help?
Regards, Hoseli
After the child understands the problem, it’s time for some hands-on experimenting!
When children are doing the experiment, remind them why they want to solve the problem – to help Hoseli the robot.
This helps them stay engaged. If they get stuck, you can ask supporting questions like: “What do you think might help Hoseli the robot to solve this problem?”
If needed, you can get more ideas for guiding questions and adaptation tips for different age groups
(register here to get free weekly activities).
Here are the basic steps for his activity:
Phase 1: Snacks in Many Shapes and Sizes
Use all of your senses to observe and compare the snacks: What colors are they? What shape are they? Do you know the names of all of the fruits and vegetables you have? Have you ever tasted them?
Classify the snacks in various ways, perhaps according to their:
- Color
- Size
- Taste (sweet or not)
- Soft or firm
- Is it a vegetable, fruit, berry or a root.
Next, it's time to work with the children to chop and slice the snacks; model how to hold the knife and fruit safely. You can guide the chopping by asking: “What kind of pieces or shapes could be good for your structures?”
What do the shapes remind you of? Do they give you any ideas about what you might build? Support discussions about how the snacks could be used in different ways. Scientists could also draw their plans on a piece of paper before they start building.
Phase 2: Snack Structures
Start building your structures on a plate.
Whilst you are building, you can discuss healthy food: Why is it a good idea to have fruit as a snack? Why are fruits and vegetables healthy? Why is it important to eat different healthy food?
As the structures develop, compare the shape of the fruit for appropriate parts of the structures. E.g. Why is the round slice of banana better for the car tire than a square one? Why did you not use that piece of fruit instead? Listen and reflect on the scientist's ideas.
Once complete, allow scientists time to tell stories to one another about their structures. Where could they go? How might they move? What might Hoseli and his friends do with them?
Pro tip: give children the freedom to get creative and explore their own solutions!
Remember: It’s an imaginary world. It’s more than ok if children don’t give the “correct” answers right away – give them time to practice their skills.
Academic research shows children learn best through child-led play and inquiry rather than following strict instructions or memorizing facts because play allows them to build meanings and connections in an age-appropriate way.
This perhaps unintuitive approach is also proven to keep children more engaged and improve their learning outcomes.
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Adult wrapping up a play-based activity by encouraging children to share their findings with the character they’re helping.
To encourage children to analyze and share their learnings, you can gather in a circle to report to Hoseli the robot.
Again, lead with the problem the character was experiencing in the letter. Encourage sharing wild and creative solutions without correcting children if they don’t fully understand the concept.
Remember: in playful learning, we’re not leading with scientific explantions – we’re putting the problem at hand into a context that makes sense to them. We can start building meanings from there.
Scientific explanation (for adults!)
Normally we might say: “Don’t play with your food!” Well, this time playing is allowed. Maybe you noticed that playing and building made the snack taste even better? When you give possibilities for children to observe the food with all senses and chop and slice it themselves, tasting becomes easier and they get used to eating more healthy food.
Fruits and vegetables are healthy food because they are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. According to the recommendations you should eat 5 portions of fruit or vegetables every day.
Is this REALLY for free?
YES! Kide has a 100% free subscription. There’s no hidden costs, and you don’t need to add your credit card information.
With the free subscription, you get 1 free lesson per week which is typically more than enough to get started. See our pricing to get unlimited access to all lesson plans and training materials.
This program is incredible. The characters, the stories, the experiments are so much fun. I do not need to spend any time planning. Everything I need is given to me be Kide Science.
Elsa
Kindergarten Teacher
Super easy to plan, and the items are usually things that we already have. Planning is made very easy & the children are very motivated!
Marju
Parent
Was just observed doing one of these lessons. Principal was shocked and so was I - one of the kids with pretty severe attention issues was engaged the entire time!
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You can find printable materials in our lesson plan attachments and extras section.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Science, SEL
30 min lesson
Medium prep.
Easy preparation
