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• 1
  

  Here’s what you’ll do in this activity

  • Build a shake table—a device engineers use to simulate the back-and-forth shaking of an earthquake. 
  • Design a building that’s stable and sturdy enough to survive an earthquake.
  • Test your building on the shake table and see what happens!

   
• 2
  

  Here are the materials to make the shake table

  • 2 pieces of sturdy cardboard (about 8½ x 11 in or A4)
  • 2 thick rubber bands
  • 2 tennis balls
  • 2 large binder clips
  • paint stirrer (or thick piece of cardboard) to make a handle
  • masking tape
  • ruler
• 3
  

  Build the shake table

  • Wrap the rubber bands around the width of both pieces of cardboard. Space them about 4 inches apart.
  • Slide two tennis balls in between the pieces of cardboard, and position them underneath each rubber band.

   
• 4
  

  Add a handle and test it

  • Tape the paint stirrer under the top piece of cardboard.  
  • Hold the bottom of the shake table with one hand. With the other, pull the handle, and let it go! Watch it shake. 
• 5
  

  Here are the materials to make your building

  • 20–30 wooden or plastic coffee stirrers  
  • 1/4 lb (100+ grams) modeling clay (about half the size of a fist); non-hardening Plasticine® preferred (or you can use poster putty)
  • manila file folder or thin piece of cardboard (8.5 x 11 inch or A4), as the base of your building
  • ruler (to measure height)
• 6
  

  Think about the challenge

  • Have paper and a pencil ready to write down ideas and sketches as you design.
  • How can you use coffee stirrers and clay to build a sturdy building that won’t collapse when shaken?
  • Your building must be at least 6 inches (15 cm) tall.  

   
• 7
  

  Build it

  • Attach the base directly to the piece of cardboard (or the manila folder).
• 8
  

  Build it (continued)

  • Measure your building. Remember: It must be at least 6 inches tall (15 cm).
• 9
  

  Test your building

  • Attach the file folder with your building on top of it to the shake table with the binder clips.
  • Use one hand to hold the bottom of the shake table against a surface, pull the handle with the other, and let go! Earthquake!
• 10
  

  What happened?

  • What did testing help you understand about your building? 
  • How safe would you feel if you were inside it during an earthquake? 
  • What could you do to make your building even better at withstanding an earthquake?
  • If your building didn’t survive all that shaking, it’s time to ...

   
• 11
  

  Redesign

  • Tip: if your building falls over, maybe your base is too small. Make it wider and sturdier.   
  • Tip: if your building collapses, add triangular shapes. Triangles are stronger than squares or rectangles because all three sides of a triangle carry some of the load (weight). 
  • Tip: if your building wobbles, make sure all parts are securely fastened together or add cross-braces for more stability.

   

   
• 12
  

  Did you know?

  • The Tallest Tower!

  Tokyo Sky Tree is the tallest tower in the world (634 m; 2,080 ft). It’s also located right in the heart of an earthquake zone. So its engineers and architects needed to build a tower with the latest anti-earthquake technology. One way they did this was by standing the tower on a triangular, pyramid-shaped base. 

  While still under construction, the tower was put to the test when?a tremendous 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Tokyo. Sky Tree’s earthquake-resistant features worked beautifully—there was no structural damage and none of the construction workers caught in the building during the quake were injured. 
• 13
  

  Try this next!

  • Take it to the next level and build an even taller building! How tall can you go?
  • Try building a bridge, a tower, or get creative with a futuristic skyscraper that’s earthquake proof.