Name: __________________

Balsa Wood Towers

Design Brief

Due: _______________ Presentations Due: ______________

You and a partner have been contracted by Mosbius and Associates to design and construct a tower due
to their large workload generated by a recent article in New York magazine. The client, Geoff Van Der
Griff, a wealthy Boston business man wants his new tower to be:
!
!
-12 tall (1/4 tolerance allowed)
!
-3 maximum width
!
-Must provide horizontal support by at least 3 supports
!
-Must allow a 1/2 inch bolt to pass all the way through the tower (for testing)
!
-A 4 inch square wood plate will be placed on top of the tower to distribute the force evenly.
!
-Only white or wood glue may be used
!
-Lamination is NOT allowed
!
Competition Rules:
1. The mass of the tower will be recorded before testing.
2. All towers will use the same test device.
3. The towers will be tested using a 4-inch x 4-inch wood block with a hole in its center for the testing
device.
4. The teacher will attach the testing mechanism to the tower.
5. When the testing device is ready, the student team will begin to apply the load to the tower at the rate
he or she chooses.
6. There will be a 7-minute time limit on adding the load. The testing device will record and graph the
load on the computer.
7. The student will continue to add the load until the tower collapses or repeated applications of force do
not change the load readings.
8. The final weight of the load will be measured and recorded.
9. The tower supporting the greatest load with the best efficiency will be the winner. The following
equation will be used to determine the efficiency- efficiency = mass of the load / mass of the tower
Other Guidelines
-4 neat, quality sketches must be submitted and approved before selecting the final design. Sketches
must show a side and top view.
-A final working plan must be signed off on by the instructor before the start of construction.
-Both drawings MUST be turned in at the close of the project.
-Structures will not be tested if:
!
The center is blocked
!
Test block will not rest on top
!
Tower is 1 inch more or less than the specified height
- 10 points will be deducted for:
!
lamination of wood
!
excessive use of glue (coating of beams, large glue joints)
P. Shultz 2011
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Name: __________________

Tools and Materials:

22 feet (11 strips) of 1/8x1/8 inch balsa wood
3x4x1/8 balsawood plate
White or Yellow glue
One cardboard or ceiling tile work area
Wax paper or plastic to cover drawing during construction
Straight pins or nails (to hold wood in place while glue dries)
One X-acto knife
Several hand saws will be available for student use

*On test day. the class will be allowed to put together a potluck during the testing. What students will bring
in will be decided several classes before test day.

Grading Criteria:
This rubric MUST be submitted with sketches and your completed tower. 10
points will be deducted if no rubric is submitted.
Research

Little or no
evidence of
research or
application to the
design
0-2 points

Design shows some

evidence of
research, some
applied to design
3-6 points

Design shows lots

of evidence of
research, research
applied to design
7-10 points

Sketches

1 or no sketches
were submitted
0-2 points

2 or 3 sketches were
submitted or no final
sketch submitted
3-6 points

At least 4 sketches
& 1 final sketch
were submitted
7-10 points

Design does not

appear to be
structurally sound
0-2 points

Design appears to
be somewhat
structurally sound
3-6 points

Design appears to
be very structurally
sound
7-10 points

Constraints

Design does not

most criteria
0-2 points

Design some, but

not all criteria
3-6 points

Design meets all

criteria
7-10 points

Workmanship

Many poor joints,

large glue joints
0-2 points

Some poor joints,

some poor glueing
3-6 points

High quality joints,

neat glueing
7-10 points

Tower
Strength

Tower is in the
bottom 1/3 weight
bearing class.
0-2 points

Tower is in the
middle 1/3 weight
bearing class.
3-6 points

Tower is in the top

1/3 weight bearing
class.
7-10 points

Design

Highest
efficiency

+5 points

Total

x2

P. Shultz 2011
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

/120

Name: __________________

P. Shultz 2011
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School