http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_earthquake_city/earthquake_city.xmlactivitytext/xmlCenter for Engineering Educational Outreach, earthquakeepicentersimulationskyscraper

Students build a city using sugar, bouillon and gelatin cubes. The city is put through simulated earthquakes to see which cube structures withstand the shaking movements the best.

In many areas of the world, earthquakes cause buildings to fall and many lives to be lost. Civil engineers design structures to be able to withstand the force of earthquakes. To do this, they must understand how the movement of the Earth affects structures, and what types of materials are best to use in earthquake zone construction. The effect of earthquakes on structures. The importance of strong buildings to prevent destruction by earthquakes.How the epicenter of an earthquake affects buildings.Different materials used in the construction of buildings.5250TeachEngineering.orghttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_earthquake_city/testing_worksheet.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_earthquake_city/testing_worksheet.pdfKessler, James H. and Andrea Bennett. The Best of Wonderscience: elementary science activities. Boston: Delmar Publishers, 1997. ISBN: 0827380941 p. 322-324.S1004F28MassachusettsScience2.5 Explain how such design features as size, shape, weight, function, and cost limitations would affect the construction of a given prototype.68S101D432MassachusettsScience1.1 Given a design task, identify appropriate materials (e.g., wood, paper, plastic, aggregates, ceramics, metals, solvents, adhesives) based on specific properties and characteristics (e.g., weight, strength, hardness, and flexibility).68S1023D14MassachusettsScience5. Describe how the movement of the earth's crustal plates causes both slow changes in the earth's surface (e.g., formation of mountains and ocean basins) and rapid ones (e.g., volcanic eruptions and earthquakes). 68United StatesCopyright 2012 - Center for Engineering Educational Outreach, Tufts Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-11-107Teacher