Stem earthquake resistant building challenge. This earthquake activity was created for Year 6 students. " You'll love the easy-to-follow shake tray instructions, ready-made lab sheet In this hands-on lesson, students learn about earthquake engineering by researching, designing, and testing toothpick-marshmallow buildings for earthquake resistance. 4 days ago · Engage kids with a STEM challenge: build an earthquake-resistant building! Explore geology, engineering, & design with this fun, hands-on activity. Once students are satisfied with the performance of their buildings, they put them Nov 1, 2020 · Activities & Days Out / 1 November, 2020 / Nanny Anita Earthquake STEM Challenge Make sure that you follow our STEM board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to pin the Pin at the bottom. One way to make a building strong is to use triangular shapes more than square ones. Your tower should have columns (legs) that extend from the base of the tower and cross braces that divide the legs up into shorter and shorter units. In our latest STEM project we have been learning about earthquakes and how to make buildings earthquake resistant. So that's my STEM earthquake proof structure challenge! I'd love to hear about how this goes if you do this yourself. Watch some of these following videos or read some of these articles to learn how people in the past dealt with earthquakes and made their structures secure. Get ready for an unforgettable STEM experience with this earthquake simulation challenge! Students will design and build structures, then put them to the test with a shake tray to see if they can withstand the “earthquake. Building from this experience, students will then apply these concepts to re-design their own models of earthquake-resistant structures, which they will test. Students work in groups to design their own earthquake-resistant structures that they can then test systematically to meet certain criteria. Aug 14, 2025 · Table of Contents Introduction Unraveling the Science Behind the Shake The Power of STEM in Learning: Building More Than Just Structures Designing an Earthquake-Proof Structure: The Engineering Challenge Building Your Own Shake Table and Structure: A Hands-On Earthquake STEM Activity Extending the Learning: Beyond the Shake Table The Lasting Impact of Hands-On STEM Conclusion FAQ: Your Try building an earthquake-resistant tower (for example, with building toys like LEGOs® or K’Nex®, or with craft materials like popsicle sticks and glue or wooden skewers and Styrofoam® balls). ” There’s no such thing as an earthquake-proof building, but engineers can figure out ways to reduce the damage and to keep people safe. The project provides hands-on explorations of cross bracing, large “footprints,” and tapered geometry. A final assessment is provided, along with additional information for a more in-depth discussion on STEM career connections. If you do your own version of an earthquake proof challenge, how do you do it? We're here to learn together! Jun 18, 2024 · In this challenge, students learn about earthquakes and how engineers design structures to be earthquake-resistant. Students will use the engineering design process to build their own structures with toothpicks and plasticine. Eart quakes can cause severe damage to homes, structures, roads, and more. Just like engineers, students design and build shake tables to test their own model buildings made of toothpicks and mini marshmallows. Feb 15, 2023 · An earthquake STEM challenge - build a shake table, seismograph and do an engineering design challenge to build earthquake resistant structures. Use these 46 Pages of Earthquake (Earth Day) STEM Challenge to let your students learn how to work as engineers to make models of buildings to see how well their structure stand up under the stress of an earthquake. Earthquake-proof buildings are often designed to bend and sway with the motion of an Extension Activities People have been building earthquake-resistant and secure buildings for centuries. Read the Instructables for all the instructions for this challenge. Dec 11, 2023 · In this Earthquake STEM challenge students will work in teams to learn more about Earthquakes and then build a shake table and seismograph. Teacher Notes: While most building designs need not consider the stresses produced when the ground shakes, building in areas that are earthquake prone need to be designed to withstand such pressures. Students work as engineering teams to explore concepts of how engineers design and construct buildings to withstand earthquake damage by applying elements of the engineering design process by building their own model structures using toothpicks and marshmallows. The groups design, build, and test This is a STEM design challenge where students will design an earthquake proof building, place it on a shake table and see if it survives an earthquake. That’s about 20,000 a year. In areas where there are frequent earthquakes, engineers try to design earthquake-proof buildings which sway with the motion of the earthquake, rather than cracking and breaking. STEM AT HOME ACTIVITY GUIDE: Earthquake Resistant Structure Challenge Aim: Design a structure that can withstand the high velocity shaking of an earthquake. Using building codes as a guide, city planners and zoning boards work together with architects, engineers, construction companies, and financial experts in this process. What kind of structures make for stable earthquake-proof buildings? STEM Engineering Earthquake Challenge: Shakin’ All Over Overview In this 2-class-period activity, students build earthquake-resistant 3-story structures and test them on an earthquake table. Here’s what you’ll do in this activity Build a shake table—a device engineers use to simulate the back-and-forth shaking of an earthquake. Students will apply their previous knowledge about earthquakes to construct a building that can withstand damage from earthquakes. Design a building that’s stable and sturdy enough to survive an earthquake. NEIC) locates an average of 5 earthquakes everyday around the world. Each packet includes the lesson plan which follows the design proces In this STEM Challenge, you will act as an earthquake engineer and develop and test a small model of earthquake-proof skyscraper (tower). Can you make the tower flexible so it bends, but does not break, during a simulated earthquake? For the second part, students learn that buildings in earthquake-prone areas need special consideration during the planning, design, and construction phases so they are as safe as possible as well as economically feasible. Feb 25, 2020 · Students learn about how engineers design and build shake tables to test the ability of buildings to withstand the various types of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. Apr 24, 2025 · Ready to Plan Your Project? If you’re looking for a complete, ready-to-go classroom challenge, check out my Earthquake-Resistant Tower STEM Challenge! This engaging project guides students through designing and testing earthquake-proof structures using the principles they explore with these shake tables. Get started now! The task in this challenge is for students to design an earth-quake resistant structure using two or more design strategies that are used to minimize the imp May 22, 2023 · Then test its strength: Can it handle a Jell-O earthquake? This Jell-O Earthquake activity from TeachEngineering, STEM curriculum for K-12, demonstrates how students can work individually or in teams to earthquake-proof their buildings. The structure will be tested to determine the earthquake-proof capacity of their building 4 days ago · Spark curiosity with our STEM earthquake resistant building challenge! Learn geology, engineering design, and build shake-proof structures. D STEM Earthquake Challenge - students experiment on cardboard houses & different materials to create the best structure to withstand a simulated earthquake. Adventure 5: Creating an Earthquake- Adventure 6: Improving an Earthquake-Resistant Building Resistant Building Groups plan, create, and test their Groups improve their initial designs, test buildings on the shake table. Have students compete to make the best design by following the design process. I created an Instructable for building a simple shake table and instructions for an engineering design challenge. Using these tools, students will be structural engineers as they design buildings that can withstand the movement of earthquakes. Earthquake-proof buildings are often designed to bend… Jul 28, 2019 · This is an Earthquake STEM Challenge. Aug 20, 2025 · Students make sense of the design challenges engineers face that arise from earthquake phenomena. Explain to them that this is similar to what some civil engineers do as their jobs. It is import In this STEM club activity, students design and build an earthquake-resistant two-storey structure, considering principles of earthquake engineering and design such as the importance of a solid foundation, wide base, symmetrical design and trusses. In doing this, they learn a reason for monitoring the lithosphere, and they design a structure to withstand an earthquake. . Test your building on the shake table and see what happens! Get ready for an unforgettable STEM experience with this earthquake simulation challenge! Students will design and build structures, then put them to the test with a shake tray to see if they can withstand the "earthquake. This hands on Earthquake Earthquake Engineering STEM Challenge While most building designs need not consider the stresses produced when the ground shakes, building in areas that are earthquake prone need to be designed to withstand such pressures. In such areas, engineers face the challenge of designing more robust buildings to withstand earthquakes. them, and finalize their building codes. ihd0ac etc jtf8h 9abtu b7 5uf fk2b x9rvn 3zdf2 nt