Exploring Structures:
This hands-on event will help children explore the following science concepts:
• How you design and build a structure helps determine how strong it will be.
• Different materials are useful for making different kinds of structures and different parts of structures.
• Walls, roofs, and bridges need to be supported in special ways.
Activity: Make a Cup Tower
This activity can be set up on a tabletop or on the floor. Provide cups and cardboard. Ask: How do you think you could use these materials to build a tower? As children experiment, ask questions to keep the explorations going:
• Can you make a tower as tall as you are? Even taller?
• What would happen if you removed some of the cups?
Children can try these “stability tests” to see how strong their towers are:
Fan a piece of cardboard at the tower to create a big wind.
Hop up and down next to the tower.
Put a weight on the top (like a book or piece of wood).
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