Agree on a time period, for example 10 minutes, during which the participants should write down all possible ideas how the paper clip could be used. The team that comes up with the most ideas wins.

The story has inspired countless copycats, who have attempted to trade their way up from a paperclip (or other small items) to something expensive, with varying degrees of success.

Design a paper clip stem challenge! Engage your students with this easy to execute paper clip stem activity. Free printables included on the post!

Set a target: “Try to come up with at least 20 different uses for a paperclip.” Encourage everyone to work independently for 5–10 minutes, listing as many uses as they can imagine, whether practical, …

This paper clip chain STEM challenge is a fantastic way for kids to explore engineering challenges using paper clips! Build, test, and improve your design to see how strong your paper clip chain can be!

Jan 15, 2026 · The Paperclip Challenge Can you hide a paperclip so well a detective can't find it?

Oct 16, 2025 · Unlock 5 exciting paperclip STEM challenges! Engage kids in engineering, circuits, and science with everyday paperclips. Spark creativity & critical thinking today!

Mar 20, 2018 · This challenge is so much fun because it sounds so simple, but is in fact one of the more difficult STEM challenges based on student feedback. If you ask students to describe a paper clip, …

Looking for a fun online team activity for your remote/virtual Team? We've created the Paperclip Challenge for great teams.

Explain the concept of the exercise: to trade a paperclip for something more valuable, which in turn has to be exchanged for another object. Examples on Youtube may help: ‘ Trading a paperclip’