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Engineering activity

Earthquake Shake Table

Build a block tower on a cookie sheet sitting on marbles, then shake it to see what happens! Learn why buildings need strong bases.

BuildingAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

Parent note

Marbles are a choking hazard for children under 3. Keep marbles contained in the rimmed tray or box lid during and after the activity.

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Build a block tower on a cookie sheet sitting on marbles, then shake it to see what happens! Learn why buildings need strong bases.

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Place marbles in a shallow box lid or on a towel to keep them from rolling away.
  2. Set a cookie sheet on top of the marbles — this is your shake table!
  3. Stack blocks into a tall tower on the cookie sheet.
  4. Gently push the cookie sheet side to side. What happens to the tower?
  5. Try building with a wider base. Does it survive the shaking better?
  6. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.

Learning objectives

  • Observe how shaking affects tall structures
  • Discover that a wider base makes buildings more stable
  • Practice building and testing with simple materials

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Build different structures on a shake table and test which shapes survive an earthquake. Draw your buildings before and after shaking.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Build a shake table: place marbles in a rimmed tray and set a cookie sheet on top.
  2. Draw three different building designs: a tall skinny one, a short wide one, and a pyramid shape.
  3. Build each design using blocks, LEGO, or sugar cubes and glue.
  4. Shake each building by pushing the cookie sheet. Rate each: stood, wobbled, or fell.
  5. Which design survived best? Draw a picture of the winner.
  6. Try adding cross-braces (popsicle sticks taped in an X shape) to the weakest building. Test again.
  7. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.

Learning objectives

  • Compare how different building shapes respond to shaking forces
  • Learn that cross-bracing adds structural strength
  • Record and compare test results across multiple designs

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Engineer an earthquake-resistant structure using the engineering design process. Test on a shake table and measure how long each design survives increasing intensity.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Build a shake table from a cookie sheet, marbles, and a rimmed box lid.
  2. Research earthquake-resistant features: wide base, cross-bracing, flexible joints, dampers.
  3. Design your building on paper with labels showing each earthquake-resistant feature.
  4. Build using popsicle sticks, marshmallows, tape, and rubber bands.
  5. Test at 3 intensities: gentle shake (5 seconds), medium shake (10 seconds), strong shake (15 seconds).
  6. Record which features survived each level. Redesign and test version 2.
  7. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Identify and apply earthquake-resistant engineering features
  • Conduct controlled tests at increasing intensity levels
  • Use test data to guide design improvements

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Design, build, and optimize an earthquake-resistant multi-story structure. Learn a few real seismic engineering ideas and test which ones help most.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Research a few seismic engineering ideas: base isolation, tuned mass dampers, shear walls, and flexible frames.
  2. Design a 3-story structure incorporating at least 2 seismic techniques. Create labeled blueprints.
  3. Build using popsicle sticks, straws, rubber bands, tape, and cardboard.
  4. Build the shake table: cookie sheet on marbles in a rimmed tray.
  5. Test at 5 intensity levels. Score each: 3 points if all floors intact, 2 if top floor falls, 1 if two floors fall, 0 if collapsed.
  6. Calculate total survival score out of 15. Identify which technique helped most.
  7. Write a short engineering reflection comparing your model's best features to real earthquake-resistant buildings.
  8. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Research and apply real seismic engineering principles to a scale model
  • Develop a scoring system to quantitatively evaluate structural performance
  • Connect hands-on results to real-world engineering solutions

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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