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Tower Strength Challenge

Silhouette of a tower on an Earthquake Platform, illustrating the challenge for students to design and build a tall structure that can withstand simulated earthquakes.
An example of a tower on top of the Earthquake Platform

Test Your Strength!

The Tower Strength Challenge will have you test the stability of your tower to see if it can withstand the shaking while placed on top of the Earthquake Platform.

All group members should check that the tower meets these standards:

  • Must be able to withstand a simulated earthquake that lasts 30 seconds.
  • Should use parts from your kit only (no glue, paper, etc.).
  • Should stand on its own (no hands!).
  • Should be as tall is possible!

The Tower Strength Challenge:

  1. The Builder should check that the Earthquake Platform is ready.
  2. The Tester should place the tower on the platform and make the platform shake.
  3. The Recorder should time how long the tower remains standing and intact and record the time and other observations in the engineering notebook.

Additional Challenge: Create a tower that can hold four wheels with tires at the top while withstanding a simulated earthquake for 30 seconds.

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