The children first looked at how engineers use geometry to help them make buildings strong and sturdy, as the children identified a range of different shapes that were common in many buildings. From this, the children explored these different shapes, discovering that some have a higher load-bearing limit that others and this resulted in the agreed findings that a triangle has a very high limit.
From this discovery the children then designed and constructed a building that was over 15cm high, using marshmallows and wooden sticks. The children worked collaboratively with their engineering partners, listening to each other and respecting each other’s ideas. As a result of this great teamwork and research, each structure survived and withstood a simulated 10 second earthquake.
By Max Berry
Year 3 Macaws Teacher
Science Subject Leader