Design and Technologies
Building & Construction
Young engineers build earthquake-tested cup towers, compare bridge designs to see why arches are stronger than flat spans, build and test their own pop-stick bridge, then design, compare and take home a catapult.
Foundation–2
90 min
up to 30 students
$490 + GST
What students will do
Students begin with a cup tower challenge, building the tallest tower they can from plastic cups, before the facilitator shakes the tables in an earthquake test to see which designs hold up. They then reinforce a second tower using paddle pop sticks, pegs and clips, and test it in a second earthquake round. Students test a single flat card as a bridge span and see it fail to hold a small weight, then test single and double arch shapes to discover how an arch spans a gap far more effectively, before building their own small bridge from pop sticks and binder clips to span a gap between two supports and testing it with weights. The session closes with students comparing two spoon catapult designs, one pivoting on a dowel and one on a bottle cap, before building and taking home their favourite design and launching a paper ball to see whose goes furthest.
Learning outcomes
- Explore how shape and joining technique affect the strength and stability of a tower built from cups
- Test a tower design under load, including a simulated earthquake, and describe what happens when it fails
- Test a flat bridge span and an arch bridge span and compare which holds more weight
- Build a small pop-stick bridge to span a gap and test how much weight it can hold
- Compare two different catapult designs and describe how each one uses a lever and a fulcrum to launch a projectile
- Use personal preference and testing results to choose, build and explain a favourite catapult design
Curriculum links
- VC2TDE2C04Core
Identify how the characteristics and properties of materials and components affect the design of solutions. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2TDE2D03Core
Use materials, components, tools and techniques to safely make designed solutions, following a sequence of steps. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2TDE2C01Related
Explain how technologies, including force and motion, affect the way products and systems move. View on VCAA ↗
- VC2S2U11Related
Pushes and pulls can change the speed, direction or shape of an object, and vary in strength and direction. View on VCAA ↗
Often booked alongside
Chemical Sciences
Christmas SciTech
Students grow a crystal Christmas tree, mould a bouncy snowball, unmask mystery liquids with a colour-change indicator, make instant snow, launch Santa's sleigh and build a snowball catapult to take home.
Physical Sciences
How Objects Move
Students roll differently shaped objects, race a balloon-powered car, drop parachutes, launch foam pump rockets, and test what sinks or floats, exploring how pushes and pulls drive every outcome.
Physical Sciences
Light & Sound
Students sort materials as transparent, translucent or opaque, feel vibrations with tuning forks, build a box guitar to explore pitch, and create shadows with a torch.
Bring Building & Construction to your school
Tell us your year levels and preferred dates. We'll confirm availability and bring everything with us.
Limited dates each term — one facilitator, one school per day.