Build and Learn: Easy STEM Building Challenge with Craft Paper

Looking for a super fun and educational hands-on activity for your kids? Today, we’re going to dive into a simple STEM building project where kids create their own cubes using craft paper!

                                                             

This easy project isn’t just about crafting — it teaches important skills in engineering and design too. Perfect for preschoolers, elementary kids, and even early middle schoolers, depending on how complex you want to get!

What STEM Area Does This Activity Cover?

This project mainly falls under the Engineering side of STEM — kids are building real structures, experimenting with stability, shapes, and design!
You can also easily sneak in some Mathematics (talking about sides, faces, edges of cubes) and even a little Art if you let kids decorate their structures afterward (turning it into STEAM!).

Supplies You’ll Need

• Colored paper – To create the cube parts; choose vibrant or themed colors.

• Mini craft sticks (optional for smaller builds)

• Small connector cubes or soft clay balls

• Glue (optional but helpful for sturdier builds)

• Ruler (for measuring sides)

• Pencil (for marking points if needed)

• Construction paper (for decorating later)

• Craft sticks (regular size is best – about 4.5 inches long)popsicle sticks) – Optional, helpful for tucking in corners, applying glue, or pressing edges without fingers.

How to Make Paper Cubes - Step-by-Step

Supplies Needed:

• Colored paper (like neon paper)

• Scissors or paper cutter

• Plastic cup

• Glue

• Q-tips (to apply glue)

Note: The plastic cup can be used as a support base while assembling your paper cube. Place the cube on the inverted cup to keep it steady while gluing the sides or letting the glue dry. It also helps avoid sticking the cube directly to your work surface.

How to use the plastic cup in this activity:

Stability during gluing: Place the cube on top of an upside-down plastic cup while attaching the "legs" (Step 4) or top (Step 5). This keeps the bottom tray elevated and stable, especially helpful for younger kids.

Drying station: Once the cube is assembled, you can rest it on the cup while the glue sets, avoiding any sides from getting squished or stuck to the table.

As a tool holder: You can also use it to hold Q-tips dipped in glue for convenience.

Instructions:

Step 1:
Cut paper into strips of the same size — around 4½ inches long and 2 inches wide.
(You need 12 strips for each cube.)

Step 2:

Fold each paper strip in half lengthwise ("like a hotdog").

Step 3:
Make a square tray using 4 strips:

• Lay 4 folded strips in a square shape with the folded sides pointing up.

• Overlap the ends at the corners.

• Glue the corners to make it stable.

Step 4:

Add 4 more strips as legs:

• Attach one folded strip at each corner, standing up.

• Glue them firmly in place.

Step 5:
Add the top of the cube:

• Either make another square tray first and attach it,

• Or attach the last 4 strips one by one to complete the top.
  Tip: If it gets tricky, build the top and bottom first, then connect them with legs.

Step 6:
Repeat the process to create multiple paper cubes!

Extra Ideas:

• Stack the cubes to build towers, towns, and sculptures.

• Hang them with thread for art projects.

• Add white paper to sides to make gift boxes.

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Bonus Fun: Decorating Time!

After the cubes are built, let kids decorate them with construction paper, stickers, washi tape, or even paint.
They can build mini houses, castles, or futuristic cities!

Extra learning idea: Ask kids how changing the size of the sides (longer or shorter sticks) would affect the cube’s strength.

Why This STEM Activity is Awesome

• Fine Motor Skills: Connecting small pieces helps kids practice hand control.

• Spatial Awareness: Understanding how shapes fit together builds important math skills.

• Engineering Mindset: Kids learn about structure, design, and stability.

• Creative Thinking: They can design their own cities, bridges, and buildings.

• Problem Solving: Fixing a wobbly cube teaches troubleshooting and patience.

Join Our Community!

If you love activities like this, you’ll absolutely want to join our Facebook group STEM/STEAM Lesson Plan and Activities where we share FREE ideas, fun worksheets, lesson plans, and cool challenges every week!

And don’t miss out on more learning fun at my store NEXT GENERATION SKILL where you’ll find even more STEM resources, pintables, and activities

Building with craft sticks and cubes is a simple idea, but once kids get into it, the possibilities are endless.

Let them experiment, build high, build wide, decorate creatively — and most importantly, learn while having tons of fun!

So grab those sticks and let’s start building!