This week’s activity got us all thinking like a contractor! After dinner and a few rounds of Blokus, we were given our construction challenge. (Handout attached.)
We had to build a bridge that could hold a 4″ cube with a 1 solid wall and a solid roof. The bridge had to be able to hold a full soda can. Sound simple enough? We had 20 minutes before we were issued our building permit, so we spent this time planning out our design. Then we had 30 minutes for construction and a budget of $125 to spend on materials.
The groups encountered a few obstacles on the road to construction. The first was a change order. The solid roof now had to have a 2″ skylight for aesthetic reasons. The second was a labor dispute. Only the ladies could use adhesives for one minute.
All of the teams met all of the building requirements. The most cost-effective team used only $116 of their budget in the end! Another award was given out to the aesthetic winner.
Next week (12/10) we are at AS+GG again at 5pm. Please bring permission forms for the site visit!
The following week (12/17), we will be meeting at 680 N Lake Shore Drive for our site visit. All students and mentors need to bring a signed permission form with them (or turn it in early) or else you will not be allowed on the construction site.
Construction Activity Handout from this week