When I opened the kit I was instantly taken back to 7th grade wood shop and my winning toothpick bridge. My partner and I built bridge that supported more weight then any other bridge in the class, so remembering I thought to myself -I got this. My confidence was quickly shattered when I started building the straw tower.
I quickly enlisted the help of fellow teachers; we knew we needed to have a strong base and supporting straws to hold the weight. I thought a square base would be good and then use supports in the form of an x. I wanted to create the same shape several times, but time and uneven straws disagreed with that. I think the "stress" of only thirty minutes had me pressured. I had a grand plan, but time and it seems my cutting/taping skills got in the way of that plan. I have done a similar activity with my students but would do it again with more thoughts on how to direct them.
This was the only picture we could get while it was still standing.
Looking back on the structure there are a few things that made the structure not the best. It was hard to get the structure to stand up straight. We began to call it the leaning tower of straws. This was due to the fact that the straws were not cut equally or the tape was not placed correctly. Also if I had a chance to re-do I would make the base larger so it stood up better or a triangle base.
Here is my score for what I feel is my not so successful tower,
score=(#unused straws)x(tower height-5)^marbles held
score=(12)(8.5-5)^7
score=(12)(3.5)^7
score=(12)(6433.93)
score=77,207.16
I wonder if you could turn it upside down and build a "marble containment structure" or basket on the top... that would give you a larger base! Glad you were able to enlist the help of fellow teachers, this is a good activity to perform in partners or small groups. The time frame definitely influences the amount of planning and the intricacy of the design you can achieve.
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