Pipe Cleaner Towers
Purpose
This activity challenges your child to think like an engineer by planning a structure before building it. It encourages organization and patience when things inevitably wobble or fall.
Activity Steps
Steps:
- Fold and cut the index cards into various shapes like squares, rectangles, and triangles. These are your building blocks.
- Using the scissors, carefully snip small, narrow slits (like buttonholes) along the edges of the index cards. These are the connection points.
- Encourage the child to first sketch out their tower design, deciding which shapes go where (the planning phase).
- Use the pipe cleaners to thread through the slits, connecting the index card pieces to build the tallest, most stable structure possible.
- If the tower collapses, encourage the child to examine the weakest point and try a new design, practicing persistence and frustration tolerance.
Safety Tip:
Always ensure the child uses age-appropriate scissors safely and receives supervision during the cutting steps.
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