Having learned that we live in an earthquake zone, we set to work designing an earthquake proof building. Working in groups of two to three, we came up with ideas and designs, made plans with a limited $30 budget, went shopping, constructed our buildings, tested, made modifications and retested.
The planning and design stage:
Shopping for supplies:
$8 Cardboard
$3 Tape
$3 Paper Plate
$5 Index Cards
$4 Aluminum foil
$2 Construction
paper
$2 Pipe cleaner
$4 Water Bottle
$2 Paper Clips
$3 Toilet paper tube
$6 Paper towel tube
$6 Craft sticks
$3 Straws
$3 Paper Cup
$2 Glue
$5 Cotton Balls
$1 Pencil
$3 Yarn
$3 Toothpicks
The construction stage:
The presentation and testing stage:
We went back to the drawing board, adjusted our buildings and
then re-tested using a real shake machine.
We learned many things about making an earthquake proof building:
- A broad foundation is helpful.
- Others have good ideas.
- You can spend $30 really fast.
- If you buy something and it doesn't work, sometimes you can't return it.
- Don't spend all your money right way.
- The half-off sale was a great surprise!
- Pencil erasers work well for support and for cushioning.
- The $8 cardboard was worth the investment.
- Tape is our friend.
- Not much can withstand "the big one" (We can make very "big ones," ones that are off the Richter Scale!)
And in the process we also learned
- Engineering
- Collaboration
- Planning
- Budgeting
- Good business practices
- Counting money
- Receiving change
- Division
- Determination
- Problem solving
- Learning from mistakes
- The science of seismology
- And more!
STEM checklist:
- SCIENCE: geology, seismology
- TECHNOLOGY: We discovered the technology of earthquake proofing at this website: http://imaginationstationtoledo.org/educator/activities/can-you-build-an-earthquake-proof-building
- ENGINEERING: the planning and construction of the building, testing
- MATH: staying within the $30 budget, counting money, adding, multiplying, division
STEM MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
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