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Straw Towers to the Moon
| Content Provider | TeachEngineering: STEM curriculum for K-12 |
|---|---|
| Author | Tu, Tiffany |
| Copyright Year | 2015 |
| Description | Students learn about civil engineers and work through each step of the engineering design process in two mini-activities that prepare them for a culminating challenge to design and build the tallest straw tower possible, given limited time and resources. In the culminating challenge (tallest straw tower), student pairs apply what they have learned and follow the steps of the engineering design process to create the tallest possible model tower within time, material and building constraints, mirroring the real-world engineering experience of designing solutions within constraints. Students learn about civil engineers and work through each step of the engineering design process in two mini-activities that prepare them for a culminating challenge to design and build the tallest straw tower possible, given limited time and resources. First they examine the profiles of the tallest 20 towers in the world. Then in the first mini-activity (one-straw tall tower), student pairs each design a way to keep one straw upright with the least amount of tape and fewest additional straws. In the second mini-activity (no "fishing pole"), the pairs determine the most number of straws possible to construct a vertical straw tower before it bends at 45 degrees—resembling a fishing pole shape. Students learn that the taller a structure, the more tendency it has to topple over. In the culminating challenge (tallest straw tower), student pairs apply what they have learned and follow the steps of the engineering design process to create the tallest possible model tower within time, material and building constraints, mirroring the real-world engineering experience of designing solutions within constraints. Three worksheets are provided, for each of two levels, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. The activity scales up to school-wide, district or regional competition scale. |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Rights Holder | Regents of The University of Colorado University of California Davis |
| Subject Keyword | Measurement Problem Solving Science and Technology Civil Engineer Tallest Competition Skyscraper Tower-building Building Civil Engineering Straw Tower Drinking Straw Plastic Drinking Straw |
| Content Type | Text Video |
| Time Required | PT2H45M |
| Education Level | Class II Class III Class IV |
| Pedagogy | Experimental Activity Lecture cum Demonstration |
| Resource Type | Hands-on |
| Subject | Geometry Technical |
