Think Like an Engineer

45-60 minutes

• Clear a flat table for each student or team and set out 5 sheets of paper and about 30 cm of tape each.
• Set up one 'testing station' with a ruler or tape measure so every tower is measured the same way.
• Plan the session in two rounds: a first build (about 10 minutes), a test-and-talk pause, then a redesign (about 10 minutes).

• Pre-tear the tape into 30 cm strips so time is not lost pulling tape off the roll.
• Keep a small cup of coins at the testing station for the optional 'hold a coin on top' test.

• Low risk overall. Scissors stay on the table and are passed handle-first.

• Name the steps of the engineering design process and that a first try is a prototype.
• Explain that a wider, lower base makes a tower more stable.
• Change a design based on what a test showed, instead of guessing.

• Thin rolled tubes that are tall but tip instantly - the base is too narrow.
• Too much tape near the top, adding weight where the tower is weakest.
• Building the whole tower before testing, so a flaw only shows up at the very end.

• "Where is the weight going?" - points them to the base and balance.
• "What part failed first when it fell over?"
• "What changed between your first tower and your second?"
• "How could you make it taller using the same amount of paper?"

Give a target height to reach (for example, 30 cm) instead of 'as tall as possible,' and let students start from pre-rolled paper tubes.

Require the tower to hold a coin on top for 10 seconds, or cap the tape at 15 cm so material choices matter more.

• Flatten and recycle the paper towers; keep any tape-free sheets as scrap.
• Collect the coins and rulers back at the testing station.