Sixth Grade Engineers Design Earthquake-proof Buildings

Sixth graders channeled their inner engineers to create buildings that could withstand the power and shaking of an earthquake. “Students took on this design challenge by incorporating what they learned about structures,” says teacher Lisa Hjelm. “February is also national engineering month, so this project was a great connection.” Using minimal materials, students created earthquake-proof buildings that could hold up to 400 grams on a steady table and 200 grams on a “shake table” (a table used to replicate the movement of an earthquake). Once the structures were complete, the buildings were put up to the shake table challenge (click here for video of the shake table challenge), where the shake table imitated P-waves, S-waves, and surface waves of an earthquake.

 

Says teacher Gin Saepharn, “We live in earthquake country, so this is a great lesson for our students. We also learned about watersheds and how to read maps for where the fault lines are.” Adds Ms. Hjelm, “I loved the way the students were so invested in the challenge, and the whole class was very appreciative of their peers’ work.” MORE PHOTOS