Seventh-graders Construct Earthquake-resistant Towers

As part of their earth history unit, seventh-graders in Kristin Suer’s science class constructed earthquake-resistant towers and put them to the test. After an engineering lesson and reading about seismic waves, students were given a scenario in which they had to build a new university art building located along the San Andreas Fault. The tower’s materials included straws and dowel rods, serving as beams, and cardboard and lasagna, which represented flooring. Students had to keep the towers’ costs within a budget. “After strapping the live loads (represented by beanbag animals) to their two-story towers, their towers experienced all the waves of an earthquake on the shake table,” Suer said. “Students ultimately had to decide whether a cheaper tower with less weight would be more successful than a more expensive tower with heavier reinforcements.” Seventh-graders recorded a video of their towers on the shake table and wrote down their reflections about their projects.