Building Trades / Construction
Cost-Effective
Tower Building and Testing
Students learn structural engineering by building tower sides,
then testing them with a teacher-made testing device—“Big Buster.”
Deck Construction
This project provides background on the structural elements of decks so commonly found outside today's homes, plus procedure for constructing scale model decks.
Doghouse Project Hones Construction Skills
Students build a doghouse from the ground up! From laying out components and performing slump tests to setting footers and laying shingles. Includes lots of supplemental material, including detailed procedures, materials cost and estimation charts, CAD drawings, glossary and more.
Fence Construction
The basics of planning for and building a fence, plus hands-on experience with a scale-model project.
Geodesic
Dome Construction
Students explore math, science, and technology principles related
to design and construction, then work in teams to build a geodesic dome. Eight
student worksheets, plus a detailed assessment form are included.
Patio Stone Project
Background on the composition, history and uses of concrete, plus a hands-on activity in which students mix concrete and design and pour a patio stone for use at home.
Scale Model House
Students learn to read a blueprint and practice measuring in architectural scale, then build their own cardboard scale-model house.
Structural Truss Elements and Forces
An introduction to primary, secondary and tertiary element relationships within structures gives students greater understanding of how constructed structures and elements distribute the forces and loads applied to them. A hands-on activity lets them apply--and test--what they've learned.
Structures and Bridges
After learning about the forces of tension, compression and shear, students build a simple beam-and-truss bridge to test for its resistance against these forces.
Tensional
Integrity
Tensional integrity, or tensegrity, is covered with explanations
of torque, stress, and Hooke’s Law. Once students understand the principles,
they can complete three activities building structures based on what they
have learned.
Testing How Structure and Shape Affect Strength
Using only paper, tape and glue, students construct several structures and shapes to examine how different construction techniques affect an object’s strength. Then, using a teacher-built “smasher,” the objects are put to the test.
World Trade Center
This activity gives background on the design of the World Trade Center and the physics involved in the collapse of its towers. In two related activities, students design a structural system similar to the WTC using paper and tape, then build a wooden scale model of the towers.
Subject Codes:
- A — Applied Academics
- B — Building Trades / Construction
- C— Communication
- D — Drafting / Design / CAD
- E — Electricity / Electronics / Computer Technology
- G — Grading / Assessment
- M — Manufacturing
- PE — Power / Energy
- P — Problem Solving / Pre-Engineering
- S — Great for Substitutes
- T — Transportation
- W — Woodworking
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