Fairy Tale Engineering: How to Survive the Huff and Puff
A group displays their three house models made of straws, popsicle sticks, and LEGO bricks.Copyright Rolando Anchia
Students become fairy tale engineers as they explore the classic tale of The Three Little Pigs through the lens of design and testing. After reading and comparing The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, students work in teams to build three model houses using straws, popsicle sticks, and LEGO bricks. They then test the strength of each house by using a leaf blower to simulate the "huff and puff" of the Big Bad Wolf, while measuring wind speed with an anemometer. Students apply engineering principles to investigate which materials provide the most structural strength and learn how real-world engineers use testing and data to improve designs.
Civil engineering is the type of engineering that involves designing and building important structures such as roads, bridges, homes, and schools. A specialized field within civil engineering is called structural engineering. Structural engineers make sure that buildings and other structures are strong, safe, and able to stand up to things like wind, rain, and people using them. They carefully choose the right materials and design the best way to build things so they do not break or fall down.
After the activity, students should be able to:
- Describe and apply the steps of the engineering design process—including asking questions, researching, imagining, planning, creating, testing, and improving—to solve a real-world problem.
- Investigate and compare the strength and stability of different building materials (straw, popsicle sticks, LEGO bricks) by constructing models and testing them against simulated wind forces.
- Test data, identify weaknesses in their designs, and apply engineering reasoning to improve their prototypes, demonstrating iterative design and critical thinking.
- Work collaboratively in teams to plan, build, test, and improve their structures, and effectively communicate their design process, test results, and reflections through presentations and discussions.