There’s something to be said for ancient engineering, and one simple design—the triangle. This week, 5th graders learned a thing or two about the strength and resiliency of the triangle as a base for construction while combining their knowledge with a piece of ancient Egyptian history.
Mr. Lawrence’s and Ms. Williams’ B period science and history classes joined forces to create ancient Egyptian pyramids in the new MakerSpace classroom. Students teamed up to become royal engineers hired by Pharaoh Khufu to build his pyramids. To test their engineering skills, each team built a pyramid out of everyday materials—dry noodles, notecards and tape. Just like ancient times, teams were allowed to trade unwanted items for items they needed to construct their pyramid. Before construction commenced, the teams watched a design video on the power of using triangles in construction. With that in mind, students set out to create a 30 centimeter tall pyramid that could potentially hold the weight of a brick.