Harrison Junior School's
Way Cool Scientists!

History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa: (make sure to click on the English version)
http://www.cisiau.unipi.it/~pierotti/Torre/cenni_storici-en.html
Objective: To construct a free-standing tower of maximum height.
Materials:
8.5 x 11 inch piece of copy paper
50 cm of 1 inch wide masking tape
Construction Aids:
pencil/pen
scissors
30 cm ruler
meter stick
Rules:
1) The paper may not be soaked, painted or otherwise treated to add rigidity (stiffness). No glues or other tapes may be used.
2) Your tower must be built from the ground (table) up.
3) Tape may be used to fasten parts of the tower together. The tape may not be used to attach the tower to the table or any other object. Excess (left over) tape may not be used to extend the height of the tower.
4) A tower will be declared free-standing if it can remain self-supporting for at least 10 seconds.
5) Height is determined by measuring the perpendicular distance from the base of the tower to its highest point.
6) Each team will have 35 minutes to complete and have their tower measured and graded.
Danger: Construction Zone
Student Towers:
104
cm
128 cm
60 cm
129
cm
103 cm
138
cm
129
cm
101
cm
126 cm
Ties to curriculum:
Problem Solving, Making Models, Physical Science (Center of Gravity)
Web Site Creator: Royce Heim, 8th Grade Integrated Science Teacher
Updated: November 12, 1999