Statue Display Tower

Build Materials (For each team)

Required Materials (Trading/Materials “Store”)

• Pieces of corrugated cardboard (put into small, medium, and large groups)
• Newspaper
• Index cards
• Paper
• Card stock
• Clay (cut into 1” sections)
• Straws
• Pipe cleaners
• Wood Skewers
• Wood Dowels
• Paper Clips
• Binder Clips
• Brass Fasteners
• Masking Tape (cut into 1 foot pieces)
• String (cut into 1 foot pieces)
• Aluminum Foil (cut into 6” pieces)
• Craft Wire (cut into 1 foot pieces)
• Hole Punches
• Rulers
• Markers

Testing Materials

Books – Consider wrapping 1 book in gold paper or spray paint it gold for the final test

Materials

• Books – Consider wrapping 1 book in gold paper or spray paint it gold for the final test

Process

Test the statue display tower designs. Students can test their design by placing a book on top and timing whether it can hold the book for 2 minutes. To save time, you can have all teams put the book on their design at the same time and time them together in a group. 

Teams must demonstrate how they can take the statue display tower apart and reassemble it. The number of steps to be reassembled must be added to the score sheet.

Design Challenge

You are a team of engineers given the challenge of designing and building a statue display tower for your local library that supports the golden book and is able to be taken apart and reassembled easily while still being low cost.

Criteria

The display tower must be:

• 4 feet tall
• Able to support 2 pounds for 2 minutes (minimum)
• Able to be taken apart and fit into a 2-gallon bag
• Able to be reassembled easily (least amount of steps)
• Low cost
• Aesthetically pleasing (unique shapes/patterns, construction is neat, nice color)
• Free standing (not attached to any surface)

Constraints

• Use only the materials provided
• Can only make a total of 3 trips to the store to purchase materials

1. Break class into teams of 3-5.
2. Hand out the Statue Display Challenge worksheet, as well as some sheets of paper for sketching designs.
3. Discuss the topics in the Background Concepts Section. You may consider having a discussion on compression with the students. Share the cost assigned to each material in the “store”:
   ● Pieces of cardboard: $0.50 (small), $0.75 (med), and $1.00 (large)
   ● Newspaper: $0.01 (per sheet)
   ● Index cards: $0.05 (for 1)
   ● Paper: 0.05 (per sheet)
   ● Card stock: $0.50 (per sheet)
   ● Clay: $0.25 (per 1” piece)
   ● Straws: $0.10 (for 1)
   ● Pipe cleaners: $0.10 (for 1)
   ● Skewers: $2.00 (for 1)
   ● Dowels: $5.00 (for 1)
   ● Paper Clips: $0.15 (for 1)
   ● Binder Clips: $1.00 (for 1)
   ● Brass Fasteners: $0.25 (for 1)
   ● Masking Tape: $2.00 (per 1 foot)
   ● String: $0.25 (per foot)
   ● Aluminum Foil: $0.50 (per 6”)
   ● Craft Wire: $1:00 (per 1 foot)
4. Review the Engineering Design Process, Design Challenge, Criteria, Constraints and Materials. Clarify that the statue display tower must be able to be easily taken apart and reassembled. Explain that students will be able to redesign their statue display tower up to 3 times…making 3 separate trips to the “store” to purchase materials.
5. Provide each team with their materials.
6. Explain that students must develop a statue display tower that is 4 feet tall and is able to support 2 pounds for a minimum of 2 minutes.
7. Announce the amount of time they have to design and build (1 hour recommended). Give students another 45 minutes to redesign and purchase more materials, if necessary. They can only make 3 total trips to the store for materials.
8. Use a timer or an on-line stopwatch (count down feature) to ensure you keep on time. (www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch). Give students regular “time checks” so they stay on task. If they are struggling, ask questions that will lead them to a solution quicker.
9. Instruct students to start brainstorming and sketching their designs. They should label the sketch and make a list of materials and note how much of each material they want to purchase. On the Materials List in the Student Worksheet, they should fill in Trip 1 with how much of each item they want to purchase.
10. Students meet and develop a plan for their statue display tower. They agree on materials they will need, write/draw their plan, and present their plan to the class. As they are planning, they must consider the cost of the materials. Teams may trade unlimited materials with other teams to develop their ideal parts list.
11. Teams build their designs.
12. Test the statue display tower designs. Students can test their design by placing a book on top and timing whether it can hold the book for 2 minutes. To save time, you can have all teams put the book on their design at the same time and time them together in a group.
13. Teams must demonstrate how they can take the statue display tower apart and reassemble it. The number of steps to be reassembled must be added to the score sheet.
14. Give teams time to complete reflection questions while you give each team an aesthetic score and calculate the final score. The lowest score is the best design. Scoring should be done as follows:
    1. The display tower must be: 4 feet tall Yes = 0 No = 1
    2. Able to support 2 lbs for 2 minutes (minimum) Yes = 0 No = 1
    3. Free standing (not attached to any surface) Yes = 0 No = 1
    4. Fits into 2 gallon bag when taken apart Yes = 0 No = 1
    5. Total Cost = Dollar amount
    6. Aesthetic Score = 0 (Excellent), 5 (Okay), 10 (Needs Work)
    7. Assembly Steps = Total steps to be reassembledFinal Score/Total Score = Cost + Number of Criteria NOT met + Aesthetic Score + Assembly Steps.
15. As a class, discuss the student reflection questions.
16. For more content on the topic, see the “Digging Deeper” section.

Extensions Ideas

• Limit how many times they can go to the store to only one time.
• Increase the weight the tower must hold and how long it must hold it.
• Lead a discussion on compression and consider having students calculate stress.

Student Reflection (engineering notebook)

1. If you had time to redesign again, what changes would you make?
2. What went well?
3. What didn’t go well?
4. Were there any trades-offs (an exchange that occurs as a compromise or concession) you had to make with your design?  (For example: cost and performance) If so, explain.
5. What is your favorite step in the engineering design process and why?
6. What is your favorite element of your design and why?

The lesson can be done in as little as 1 class period for older students. However, to help students from feeling rushed and to ensure student success (especially for younger students), split the lesson into two periods giving students more time to brainstorm, test ideas and finalize their design. Conduct the testing and debrief in the next class period.

Compression

A force (f) is something that causes a body to change its speed, direction, or shape.

F= ma (mass x acceleration)

• Mass is the quantity of matter in a body. (m=w/g) (mass equals weight divided by gravity)
• Acceleration is the rate at which an object changes its velocity. (a= ∆ velocity / time) (acceleration equals change in velocity divided by time)

The force can be one of three main types:

• Tension (Pull): a orce that stretches or elongates.
• Compression (Push): a force that shortens or squeezes something, decreasing its volume.
• Torque (Rotate): a force that causes rotation around a central point such as an axle.

This lesson will be focusing on compression. The display tower is under the compression force from the statue. Examples of compression (ADD IMAGES)

A compression force, or any force for that matter, will cause stress on the object. Stress is equal to force divided by area (cross-sectional).

Stress = F/A

You may consider having the teams calculate the stress on their display tower. The force will be 2 lbs. Students will need to calculate a specific cross-sectional area (where high stress is anticipated or where it failed in testing) of their display tower (in2 ). The stress will be in psi or lbs of force per in2 .

Recommended Reading

• Force & Motion (ISBN: 978-0789448828)
• The Art of Construction: Projects and Principles for Beginning Engineers & Architects (ISBN: 978-1556520808)

Writing Activity

Write an advertisement for your display tower aimed at other libraries, galleries and museums.

Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks

Note: All lesson plans in this series are aligned to the National Science Education Standards which were produced by the National Research Council and endorsed by the National Science Teachers Association, and if applicable, also to the International Technology Education Association’s Standards for Technological Literacy or the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principals and Standards for School Mathematics.

National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10 – 14)

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology 

As a result of activities, all students should develop 

•  Abilities of technological design  
•  Understandings about science and technology

National Science Education Standards Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology 

As a result of activities, all students should develop 

• Abilities of technological design  
• Understandings about science and technology  

Standards for Technological Literacy – All Ages

Technology and Society 

• Standard 5: Students will develop an understanding of the effects of 
  • technology on the environment. 
• Standard 7: Students will develop an understanding of the influence of 
  • technology on history. 

Design 

• Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of 
  • troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and 
  • experimentation in problem solving.

Golden Book Design Challenge

Scenario

A gold statue of a book was created by one of America’s top artists in celebration of America’s first public library.  The statue will sit in the main entrance of your local library for a week.  It will continue to be moved from library to library throughout the year.  A tower must be built to hold the statue so it can be on display for all to see and also be able to be taken apart and reassembled for each move.  The engineering team that can design the lowest cost display tower that meets all of the criteria will be awarded the contract. 

Design Challenge

Design and construct a display tower for your local library that supports the golden book and is able to be taken apart and reassembled easily while still being low cost.

 Criteria

The display tower must be:

• 4 feet tall
• Able to support 2 lb for 2 minutes (minimum)
• Taken apart and fit into a 2-gallon bag
• Reassembled easily (least amount of steps)
• Low cost
• Aesthetically pleasing (unique shapes/patterns, construction is neat, nice color)
• Free standing (not attached to any surface)

Constraints

• You can use only the material provided.
• You can only make a total of 3 trips to the store to purchase materials

Final Score (Lowest Score Wins Contract)

Aesthetic Score = 0 (Excellent), 5 (Okay), 10 (Needs Works)

Assembly Steps (Total steps to be reassembled) =

Total Score = Cost + Number of Criteria NOT met + Aesthetic Score + Assembly Steps

Material Costs

Planning Stage

Meet as a team and discuss the problem you need to solve. Then develop and agree on a design for your statue display tower. You’ll need to determine what materials you want to use.

Draw your design below, and be sure to indicate the description and number of parts you plan to use.

Team members:___________________________________________________________

Brainstorm possible solutions:

Choose BEST solution and SKETCH it (make sure to LABEL your sketch):

Construction Phase

Build your statue display tower. During construction you may decide you need additional materials or that your design needs to change. This is ok – just make a new sketch and revise your materials list.

Testing Phase

Each team will test their statue display tower. If your design is unsuccessful, redesign (purchase more materials if necessary- Round 2) and test again. Be sure to watch the tests of the other teams and observe how their different designs worked.

Sketch your final design (make sure to label your sketch):

Evaluation Phase

Evaluate your team’s results, complete the evaluation worksheet, and present your findings to the class.

Use this worksheet to evaluate your team’s results in the Statue Display Tower Lesson:

Did your solution meet the criteria?

Assembly Steps (Total steps to be reassembled) =

1. If you had time to redesign again, what changes would you make?

2. What went well?

3. What didn’t go well?

4. Where there any trades-offs (an exchange that occurs as a compromise or concession) you had to make with your design? (For example: cost and performance) If so, explain:

5. What is your favorite step in the engineering design process and why?

6. What is your favorite element of your design and why?

Aesthetic Score = 0 (Excellent), 5 (Okay), 10 (Needs Works)

Total Score = Cost + Number of Criteria NOT met + Aesthetic Score + Assembly Steps

TOTAL SCORE: ___________________

Lesson Plan Translation

[language-switcher]

Additional Translation Resources

• Arabic