STEM Tale - Fairy Tale Activity for Beauty and the Beast

Fairy Tale STEM Activity for Beauty and the Beast

Belle loves to read but she needs a book stand. Why? Her hands are tied up helping the beast tame his mane!

Materials Needed for this STEM Fairy Tale Activity

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cardboard boxes, recyclables, tape
(optional) building bricks and plates (this pack is LEGO-compatible)
books to test in the book stand

Watch a Video Preview of Beauty and the Beast STEM

Before Getting Started with the Fairy Tale STEM Activity

STEM tales work best if you read the original fairy tale first or do your own storytelling. Discuss the similarities and differences as you read through the story. Since many of the kids have likely seen a movie of this fairy tale, you can also contrast and compare the movie to the story.

Fairy Tale STEM with the Engineering Design Process

I have designed STEM tales so that as students read the story, they will follow the engineering design process. What is the problem that needs to be solved in the Beauty and the Beast STEM Tale? Beauty needs a book stand. You can provide a variety of books for the students to pick from.

Design a Book Stand in this Fairy Tale STEM Challenge

After brainstorming book stand design ideas, the students will then choose one to create. They will need to take measurements and then test out the book stand to make sure it holds the book. Once they have a working design, they can test it out with other books. For example, the design below will work for a narrow range of books. If the book is too long, it won't fit (or the words will be obscured).

The stand above holds the book at the top and bottom of the book. Here is another design that supports the book at the sides:

The design above will work for books of a different length/height, but what if they are too wide? This one can actually be adjusted for width to some degree.

Growth Mindset and STEM

STEM tales are a great way to foster teamwork and problem-solving. They are also the perfect way to model a growth mindset. It is rare for an engineering design to work perfectly on the first attempt, so students will likely experience failure at some point. In improving the designs and working together, they will work through the issues and solve the problem.

To find the full resource, which includes an 8-page booklet, check list for self-evaluation, and tips, visit this link: