For STEM week Primary 2.2 were set a challenge of designing and building a tower that birds could sit their nests on. We started off by thinking of lots of different designs and looking at some photographs of strong structures. Then we discussed which designs we thought would work the best and why. After that we worked in teams to have a go at building some of the models. 

‘The top of our tower was perfect for a nest because it was a long rectangle. Our group used Megan’s idea which looked like a house. We tried to build the roof but it was too tricky because it kept collapsing. Next time I would add things on the side to help make it more secure.’ Hamish

 

‘Ours went quite well but some parts were hard. Everyone had good moments and bad moments. Our good moment was at the start when we built the base of the tower. Our bad moment was at the end when the top started falling but we managed to fix it.’ Leo

‘My group chose Callen’s idea but it didn’t really turn out anything like it. We added extra bits and we added on a base instead. Then we added on some flags.  I liked it because it was very sturdy.’  Annabelle

‘We were trying to make the Eiffel tower. We couldn’t make the cuboid at the top because the straws weren’t the same length so we couldn’t adjust it and the top was too heavy for the rest of the structure. The base was the right size so it worked well.’ Isla 

‘Our groups was a bit small so I think the giraffes would have been able to reach it. Next time I would make a cuboid shape to help make it a bit stronger and taller.’ Melody

 

Afterwards we discussed what other materials we could have used to build our towers. The next day we decided to try again using a new idea, marshmallows and spaghetti. This took cooperation and lots of patience. These models were a little bit messier but far tastier!

‘We started with big marshmallows but they kept falling down because they were too heavy. Then we got some wee marshmallows which were lighter. We put the big ones at the bottom to make it steady and we used the small ones at the top.’ Kobe