Week 9 — Structure & Stability (SimLab Earthquake)

Focus Concept: Building stable structures and testing them with simulated earthquakes
Mini-Project: Anti‑Fall Tower Challenge

Connections to STEAM Learning

  • Computing: Using SimLab to apply forces and test structures.
  • Science: Forces, vibrations and how buildings respond to shaking.
  • Design & Technology: Designing towers under constraints (height vs stability).
  • Maths: Comparing heights and using simple ratios (e.g. base width vs height).
  • Engineering: Using bracing and wide bases to improve stability.

This week participants build a tower in SimLab, then subject it to virtual earthquakes, improving the design to keep it standing.

Objectives

  • Build a tower using beams and connectors in SimLab.
  • Test the tower with earthquake forces.
  • Strengthen the design using bracing and wider bases.

Success Criteria

  • I can build a tower that stands before the earthquake starts.
  • I can run an earthquake test and describe what happened.
  • I can improve the design to survive stronger shaking.

Key Vocabulary

  • Stability — how well something stays upright.
  • Bracing — diagonal supports that stop a structure wobbling.
  • Base — the bottom part of a structure that carries the load.

Part A — Build: First Tower

  • Give simple rules (e.g. minimum height, no grouping all parts into one block).
  • Let learners build a basic tower from beams and joints in SimLab.

Part B — Earthquake Test

  • Run an earthquake simulation at a gentle level.
  • Ask: Where did it break? Did it sway, buckle or topple?

Part C — Improve & Share

  • Add bracing, thicken key parts or widen the base.
  • Test again at a stronger level.
  • Share “before and after” designs and talk about which changes helped most.

Resources

Equipment

  • Laptops / Chromebooks with internet
  • Mouse per device

Safety & Setup Notes

  • Emphasise that this is a simulation, but link to real‑world earthquakes sensitively.
  • Encourage respectful discussion if any learners have experience of earthquakes.