Strong Structures Challenge
Build it, load it, break it, build it better!
Your students work as engineering teams: they build towers, bridges and paper pillars, load them until they fail and use every collapse as evidence to build something stronger. Stage 3 and HPGE classes also explore the geometry of strong structures, building rigid frames, truss bridges and domes with Zometool.
Years 1–6 + HPGE
Hands-on
Investigations
Inquiry Based
Primary School Workshops
Customise
Your
Experience
What's In Strong Structures Challenge?
A hands-on workshop about bridges and towers: what makes a structure strong? Every student investigates with a challenge card matched to your stage.
Every session opens with a surprise test that gets the class wondering what makes a structure strong, and ends with teams putting their best design under load.
Inside
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Year Levels
Years 1–6 + HPGE
Duration
60 or 90 minutes
Group Size
Up to 32
Price (incl GST)
$690 (60 min)
$21.56 per student
$790 (90 min)
$24.69 per student
Differentiated challenge cards matched to your class
Choose experiences to match your class interests
Predict, test, observe and explain
THE CRAZY SCIENTIST DIFFERENCE
Multiple Investigations. Learning Matched to Every Stage
Differentiated challenges and syllabus-connected learning across the workshop.
Explore the learning at your stage.
Stage 1 — Strong Structures Challenge
Stage 1 cards challenge students to work out why some structures bend or break and what makes theirs stronger.
Relevant NSW Science & Technology outcomes (2024)
Every group works from a Stage 1 challenge card written for these outcomes.
✓ ST1-SCI-01 — Forces can change the way objects move
Recognise that a force is a push or a pull that can make things either start moving, stop moving, change speed, direction or shape
✓ ST1-DDT-01 — A design process is used to define user needs and create solutions
Pose questions and test how materials with different properties contribute to the effectiveness of a product
See the Science in Action
LEARNING BEYOND THE WOW
What Students learn & How We Support Teachers
What Your Students Will Learn
Follow a design process to build a structure
Compare the strength of triangle and square shapes
Measure and record the load a structure can hold
Use test results to improve a design
Differentiated challenges and syllabus-connected learning across the workshop.
Differentiated challenges and syllabus-connected learning across the workshop.
How we support teachers
Challenge cards for every stage, used by
students during the session.
Classroom follow-up experiments to keep the learning going
Risk assessment, Working With Children Check and public liability insurance details, sent before your visit
Thinking skills students practise
READY TO BOOK?
Workshop Requirements & Bookings
Everything You Need to Know
Up to 32 students per session
Group Size
60 or 90 minutes
Session Time
A classroom with tables for 16 pairs and a power point for the wind-test fan. Everything runs inside.
Space & Setup
All materials, equipment, safety glasses and stage challenge cards.
What we Provide
“Want something to take home? Ask about our take-home extras when you enquire.”
Enquire About This Workshop
30+ Years Teaching Science
Experienced science teacher designing activities that keep children engaged, involved and learning.
We Bring Everything
Experiments, equipment and materials come with us — you just provide the space and the kids.
Tailored to Your School
Activities are adjusted to suit your class’s stage
Fast Availability Reply
Tell us your preferred date and we’ll get back to you with availability, packages and suitable extras.
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