Structural Stability - Tallest Tower Earthquake Challenge

Another major unit of the year was trying to built the tallest tower that can withstand a simulated earthquake. Students were challenged to weigh the benefits and cons of height, as increasing height meant a faster accumulated score, but more chance for the entire tower to topple.

Unit Picture & Slideshow Highlights:

A review of the engineering design process allowed students to identify strong starting designs. We also reviewed real life earthquakes, faults, and the damages that can arise.

The students demonstrated their understanding of the engineering design process by physically notebooking their "define the problem" and "brainstorm" steps. At the end of the unit, we held an in-class competition to see which team's tower was able to score the highest!