Weston Middle School
Technology/Engineering Course Materials
Lesson 1
o Design Brief: Working in pairs, build the highest free-standing tower
you can.
o Constraints: You are limited to 5 sheets of copier paper and 6”
of scotch tape per tower
o Performance criteria: The tower must stand for at least 30 seconds.
• A: At Least 50” tall
• B: At Least 40” tall
• C: At Least 30” tall
Next Class: Re-design
Clean-up
Summarize: What did you find? Dismiss from seats.
Lesson 2
• Prep:
• Paper in packets
• Cut dowels in 2
• Scissors
• Tape- no fixed amount; squares of aluminum tape String
Assign Partners
- Review
Issues:
- Redundancy
- Importance of Side Support- demonstrate with pole held at bottom—acts as hinge
- Think:
How can we create side support?
Today I will show you the technology for building paper towers:
Demonstrate
Rolling technique with a half-sheet
Demonstrate joining technique w/metal tape or glued paper tape
Demonstrate interfacing supports with center to make a tripod
Lesson 2 or 3:
o Demonstrate guy wires with string
Alternate application: Stays on ship mast rigging.
Master and Commander-Preview- Note the forces on the mast and rigging.
Tents: A "Complete" structure, with elements in both tension and compression
Discussion:
The importance
of learning from failure- there is no "bad" building-only specific
issues that need to be corrected.
The importance of good craftsmanship and care in construction
Making Paper Cables