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Build
A Tower
Materials:
one pound of spaghetti
(uncooked), 10 oz. bag of miniature marshmallows, box of paper clips or
other light weight item, ruler or tape measure, paper for drawing
designs
Procedure:
Set the stage: students are
architects and engineers who must use the materials at hand, spaghetti
and marshmallows, to design and build a tall tower that can support the
weight of a box of paper clips.
Allow
students to talk about things they need to consider before building
their structure.
Divide
the students into teams. Allow 10 minutes to plan, 20 minutes to build,
and 10 minutes to test.
Invite
students to talk about the ideas they thought of and the process they
followed while designing and building the tower.
Notes:
Use play money and give each
team a budget of $10,000. Affix a monetary value to the materials
needed: $100 per piece of spaghetti; $75 per marshmallow. Challenge
students to build their towers within the fixed budget.
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