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Build a Super Structure
The next time you see a house or a high-rise under construction, look at the shapes made by the frame. Some shapes are stronger than others. You don't need steel girders to experiment with shapes. You can raid the kitchen for building materials.
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You'll need:
- a package of toothpicks
- miniature marshmallows (or modelling clay)
- a hardcover book
- 2 chairs
- 5 quarters in a paper cup
- Using the toothpicks as beams and the marshmallows (or small balls
of modelling clay) as glue, try to build a tall structure using 9
marshmallows and 15 toothpicks.
- Now try building with 15 marshmallows and 9 toothpicks. Which structure
is stronger? When you look at the stronger one, do you see more triangles?
- Using 14 marshmallows and 20 toothpicks, try to make a structure
that's strong enough to hold the book.
- Here's a final challenge: Try building a bridge between two chairs
30 cm (1 foot) apart. Use as many marshmallows and toothpicks as
necessary. When you're done, see if it will hold the cup full of
quarters.
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Excerpt from The Jumbo Book of Science
by the Ontario Science Centre, used by permission of Kids
Can Press Ltd., Toronto.
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