Can You Catch A Leprechaun?

Trying to catch a Leprechaun is a fun STEAM Challenge to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! This challenge will take around an hour to complete. Before we begin let's learn a little more about Irish folklore before students develop a plan to catch the Irish trickster.

Leprechauns are said to be part of a fairy world. It’s believed that Leprechauns watch the golden treasure left by Danish people who invaded Ireland more than 1,000 years ago. According to legend, if you catch a leprechaun it will have to tell you where the gold is hidden because he is compelled to tell the truth by fairy law. You can learn more about Legend Of The Irish Leprechauns here.

What do you say? Can you catch a Leprechaun?

What you need...

• Timer

What you need per group...

• Ruler 
• Building Materials 
• Examples: Ribbon Spools, Duct Tape, String, Shoe Box, Yarn, Straws, Plastic Cups, Cardboard Rolls  

What you need per student...

• Pencil 
• Can You Catch A Leprechaun? Creator Sheet

What you need to do...

• Start by breaking students into groups of three or four and give each student a Creator Sheet and make sure they have a pencil. 
• Tell students that today they have the challenge of trying to catch a Leprechaun! Tell students that their traps must be 3 inches tall and 1 inch wide. 
• You can give students the background information listed above and spend a bit of time talking about Irish legends and St. Patrick’s Day. 
• Ask students to predict how the challenge will go and what difficulties they may run across during the challenge. Have them write down their answers on their Creator Sheets. 
• Brainstorming is a very important part of this challenge! Students should have a wide variety of materials to choose for building their Leprechaun trap, but they should decide what materials they are going to use before they get started. 
• With that being said, have students brainstorm how they are going to build their Leprechaun trap and what materials they are going to use. They can draw and write their answers on their Creator Sheet. 
• If students are having troubles you can help them brainstorm. The example of a pulley is a good way to get students thinking.  
• Once students are ready to build have them collect their materials and set a time and give them 30 minutes in their groups to build their Leprechaun trap. 
• When the thirty minutes is done go around the room and have groups demonstrate their traps. Also, measure their traps to be sure it can fit a Leprechaun. 
• Finish by asking students how difficult the challenge was and what they would do differently if they could re-do it. Have them write their answers on their Creator Sheet. 

We would love to see you try this STEM Challenge. Share your results with us through social media!

Happy Making,

Maker Maven