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Back to Educator Index | Skyscraper Challenge Hands-On Activity Handout
Go to the Skyscraper Challenge
Hold up an and announce that you want to stand it up on a table. Ask kids if they think you can do this (they will probably laugh and say no). Stand the card up on one edge so that it falls over. (changing the shape of the paper by folding it or curving it into a column)
- Remind kids to brainstorm all the ways in which they can alter the paper. Encourage them to think about shapes and stability. Reinforce that looking at what other groups are doing is okay; it is not a competition between groups, but a chance to learn from others' discoveries.
- As groups finish and measure their towers, take a group "tour" of the results. (Use one tower as a model to point out that gravity and the dead load of the tower are pushing down, the surface is pushing back up, small air movements are adding forces from the side.) (Encourage kids to point out creative uses of shapes, fastening techniques, wide bases, and other solutions to balancing and stiffening their towers.)
The strength of a given building material can depend on how it is used. Pleating or rolling a piece of paper can increase its stiffness. By crumpling, folding, and otherwise reshaping the flimsy, flat sheets and by forming a wide base, kids can make the newspaper stand upright. Many forces are acting on the towers. Gravity and the dead load of the tower are pushing down, the surface is pushing back up, small air movements are adding forces from the side. A foundation serves to distribute the load into the surrounding ground material. Have students brainstorm examples of where wide bases increase stability (snowshoes, skis, orange traffic cones). If there is a tall radio or television tower in your area, invite a maintenance worker to talk to your group about its design.
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