Clear evidence for why not to build on loose soil in an earthquake zone! The sand will start to jiggle, then shift and move, knocking over the trees and fences, carrying the rocks across the pan – flowing almost like water. Use a back massager tool to create a vibration, by holding the tool up against the side of the pan. In the IMAX movie “Dream Big – Engineering Our World”, they showed a class project where they set large jello molds on top of the shake table and jiggled them.įor detailed instructions on building shake tables, and related activities / discussions, see or or the video here: I’ve also considered purchasing this pre-made shake table and blocks from Lakeshore: Science Exploration Activities Earthquake on Sandįill a large container with sand, and toys, such as plastic fences, trees, and flat rocks. We had our oldest kids (age 6 – 7) try building with Duplos too to see the difference that materials make in earthquake safety. For our little kids (age 3 – 5), we just had them build with the wood and knock it down. The wooden blocks were a more effective demo. Unfortunately, Duplos are pretty sturdy (especially when you attach them to the base plate!), and it was easy to build towers that could withstand the shake. They tested Duplo towers. If they built a very tall tower, the “earthquake” would knock it down. We also had a wobbly lazy Susan in our cabinet and it was a great earthquake simulator. On each of these shake tables, if you bump a corner or pull back then let go of one side, it would jiggle and shake. The third one was the binder covers, rubber bands, and balls, but no Duplo base board. For the second, I cut the cover off an old three ring binder to get two stiff “boards.” Then I placed two dowels between them for them to roll back and forth on, then rubber banded that together, and taped a Duplo base board to it. Then inserted four rubber bouncy balls in between them, one at each corner. For the first, I took two duplo base plates (green and yellow) and rubber-banded together, back to back. I built shake tables (earthquake simulators). Shake TablesĮvery week, we have a challenge activity which encourages kids to build something, test it, re-build it… This week’s theme was perfect for that! Then we have opening circle, then tinkering time to explore more. This inspires their curiosity, allows for a-ha moments of independent learning, and raises questions which helps them engage more with the answers we give. I have a separate post that focuses on Rocks.Īs always, we began class with Discovery Time, where we let kids explore all our activities hands-on, before we teach the scientific concepts for the day. Our theme this week was the Earth, Earthquakes and Rocks.
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