• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Feels Like Home™ logo

white magnifying glass on a red circle
  • Shop
    • Christianity Downloads
    • Family Downloads
    • Food & Cooking Downloads
    • Hobbies & Crafts Downloads
    • Learning Downloads
  • All Recipes
    • By Course
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast
      • Condiments & Spices
      • Desserts
      • Drinks
      • Lunches & Dinners
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
    • By Method
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Oven
      • Stove Top
      • Air Fryer
      • Instant Pot
      • Slow Cooker
      • Copycat Recipes
      • Grill
      • Microwave
      • No Bake
    • By Meat
      • Beef
      • Pork
      • Chicken
      • Turkey
      • Seafood
      • Meatless
    • By Cuisine
      • Asian
      • Italian
      • Mexican
      • Eating after Bariatric Surgery
      • Gluten-Free
      • Vegetarian
      • Copycat Recipes
    • Comfort Food
    • Recipes for Foodie Kids
    • Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals
  • Dinners
    • Beef
    • Pork
    • Chicken
    • Turkey
    • Seafood
    • Meatless
    • Pizza
    • Stir Fry
    • Sandwiches
    • Pasta
    • Salads
    • Soup & Chili
    • Casseroles
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • One Pot
    • Crockpot
    • Instant Pot
    • Grilling
    • Side Dishes
  • Desserts
    • Ice Cream
    • Cakes
    • Cheesecake
    • Pies
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • No Bake Desserts
  • Holidays
    • Super Bowl
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Mother's Day
    • Memorial Day
    • 4th of July
    • Labor Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Year's
    • Birthdays
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Holidays & Celebrations
      • Birthdays
      • Valentine's Day
      • St. Patrick's Day
      • Easter
      • Mother's Day
      • Father's Day
      • Summer Picnics
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
      • New Year's Eve
    • Kids activities
      • Kids Crafts
      • Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers
      • Christmas Crafts for Kids
      • Christmas Crafts for Tweens & Teens
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • SHOP
  • RECIPES
  • FAMILY
  • FAITH
  • HEALTH
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    See More:   Elementary Aged Kids Kids activities Learning Preschoolers STEM

    Last Modified: May 24, 2022 by Tara Gerner Leave a Comment

    What Shape is Strongest? - Kids Science Experiment

    Facebook21PinterestX
    21
    SHARES

    A collage of paper towersPin

    Sometimes, science experiments can look a whole lot like playing, and there is nothing at all wrong with that. This science experiment is exactly that, a lot of playing with a science explanation.

    There is quite a bit of prep work for this one, but it is easy, and you can get the kids involved.

    The question behind this experiment is which shape is the strongest? So kids can get really creative and arrange their shapes in any number of ways, and the goal is to support the heaviest possible object.

    Grace tried exactly one arrangement, and it supported a 2-pound glass jar full of water. I couldn't believe it. She totally predicted that it would work, and when she showed me that it did, she was finished and didn't want to explore any more.

    Allie, on the other hand, played with these shapes for a full half hour, building and rebuilding, stacking and restacking, and placing all kinds of objects on top of her tower. She had fun knocking them over and starting again.

    I'm not sure if the difference is personality or age. I'll let you be the judge. I enjoyed playing with these shapes myself, as you will see in the photos below.

    Also, I didn't throw the shapes out. I stuck them in a little cardboard box, and I will get them out later in the summer for the girls to explore the concepts a bit more.

    Materials

    • Cardstock in 4 colors - I used what I had gotten for Valentine's Day, so ours was all pinks and red and black.
    • Clear tape
    • Scissors
    • Ruler
    • Pencil

    Instructions

    1. Cut the following out of cardstock:
      • 12 pieces - 6" x 2"
      • 12 pieces - 6.5" x 2"
      • 12 pieces - 8" x 2"
      • 1 piece - 9" x 2"
      • 1 piece - 7" x 2"
      • 1 piece - 5" x 2"
        shape-tower---kids-science-experimentPin shape-tower-kids-science-experiment-black-paperPin
    2. Grab one of the 8" pieces, and mark it every 2". Crease on each mark.
    3. Use that piece as a template to crease all the 6" and 8" pieces. I folded mine 3 at a time, and it went pretty quickly.
    4. Tape the 6" pieces into triangles. Tape the 6.5" pieces into cylinders. Tape the 8" pieces into squares.
      strongest-shape-pile-kids-science-experimentPin
    5. Ask your kids to build a tower that will support weight using only one shape at a time. I asked this of Grace, and this is what she built:
      strongest-shape-kids-science-experimentPin
    6. Try not to give too many instructions. Just let them build, and see what they can support. I talked Allie into building towers three levels high (as was my original idea - hence the three black pieces to steady the whole structure), and she had a lot of fun with that.
      strongest-shape-allies-tower-kids-science-experimentPin

    The Science

    The science behind this is pretty easy. Even though we use solid rectangles and squares for building, they aren't the strongest shapes when empty. The strongest shapes are the triangles. They distribute all the weight on top of the point through the sides and out over the base. When you build with the triangles and cross pieces, you should see the least amount of bowing and buckling.

    strongest-shape-triangles-kids-science-experimentPin

    Extend the Experiment

    Try to place heavier and heavier objects on top of the pile of shapes. In the picture above, Grace's 1-story "tower" held up the heavy jar of water, but when I made exactly the same thing with 3 stories, it crushed the blocks and left them in a flat heap. We had to switch to the rubber ducky which was significantly lighter.

    After they've tried each shape individually, encourage your kids to experiment with different arrangements. One that Allie really liked was the circle inside the square. This proved to be very stable.

    Let your kids just play with these shapes if they are interested. The shapes won't be perfectly square, and they will wobble a little. This adds to the creativity and problem solving skills required by your kids.

     

    Have fun!

    Check out Super Science Summer, my at-home science summer camp going on for 11 weeks in 2016!

    Facebook21PinterestX
    21
    SHARES

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Tara.

    Harrisburg PA mom blogger Tara Ziegmont
    I'm passionate about helping women to care for themselves and their families by offering a combination of easy & delicious recipes, family fun ideas, and Christian inspiration. If you're tired of feeling so weary and uninspired, you're in good company.

    If you don’t like cooking or don’t think you can cook, you're in the right place. Feels Like Home is all about simple recipes, and I promise you, ANYONE can make them! No one will ever question your cooking ability again.

    I'm so glad you're here!

    Read more about me...

    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram LinkedIn email me

    Recent posts:

    an apple dipped in cinnamon cream cheese fruit dip with apple slices and strawberries in the background

    Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

    a close up of a gluten free chicken tender dripping with honey mustard sauce

    Low Carb Gluten Free Dairy Free Chicken Tenders

    A close up of CrockPot Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes on a spatula

    CrockPot Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

    candied yams with marshmallows on a white plate

    Candied Yams with Marshmallows

    AS SEEN ON

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Popular Recipes

    Slices of meatloaf topped with ketchup glaze
    THE BEST EASY MEATLOAF (PS. IT'S HEALTHY!)


    a scoop of egg and olive salad on a lettuce leaf
    EGG & OLIVE SALAD


    Instant Pot chuck roast surrounded by carrots and potatoes
    INSTANT POT CHUCK ROAST


    sliced pork roast on a cutting board
    INSTANT POT BALSAMIC PORK ROAST


    a close up of fried apples
    SKILLET FRIED APPLES (CRACKER BARREL COPYCAT)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Accessibility
    • No AI

    As seen on

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Contact Tara


    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy.

    All content provided on Feels Like Home Blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this site makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.

    Copyright © 2007-2023 Feels Like Home Blog  | No content on this site, including text and photos, may be reused in any fashion without written permission.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    SettingsAccept
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT