It has been an amazing journey investigating structures and materials. We concluded our challenge sessions this term by taking time to look at some great books about structures, architecture and more. Then the students chose a structure they wanted to recreate. Finally, they chose the materials they wanted to use and off they went.
December 7th
Today we explored towers and what makes them both strong and tall. We started by reading Megastructures to learn about how some of the tallest structures in the world were made.
The challenge today was to build the tallest free standing structure with one piece of paper, 30 cm of masking tape and scissors.
October 20
Today we met for the first time. Our goal for the hour was to explore various building materials and learn some of the basic principles of architecture. First we read, Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty.
Next we broke into teams where students participating in a challenge to build a “post and lintel” house out of a material of their choice. Students then tested how much weight their houses would bear.
What did we notice?
- The post and lintel structure is very strong
- simple structures worked best for bearing weight and completing task on time
- symmetry contributed to stability
- taller structures were less stable than shorter ones
