The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
Summary
As an introduction to the concepts of tension and compression, participants use their bodies
to act out building shapes and understand the forces of push and pull. Next, they observe the
forces of compression by manipulating gelatin blocks. Finally, they look at photographs of
buildings in their neighborhood and identify the forces of push and pull at play.
Learning Goals for Everyone
Cognitive Goals
Affective Goals
Define a force as a “push” or
a “pull.”
Describe tension and
compression using the terms
“push” and “pull.”
Identify forces of push and
pull at play in neighborhood
buildings.
Identify tension and
compression in a structure.
Demonstrate engagement by
asking questions, responding
to questions, and looking
alert.
Behavioral Goals
Use their bodies to act out
building shapes and the
forces of push and pull.
Manipulate gelatin blocks
to demonstrate and observe
compression.
Document session experiences
and thoughts by adding to
their sketchbooks.
Learning Goals for Caregivers
Tension and compression are
important structural words. All
structures—whether a tent or a
skyscraper, a dome or bridge—
exist at all times in either tension
or compression. A balance (or
equilibrium) of opposing forces
is what makes a building stand
up. Unbalanced forces signify
instability and can lead to a
building’s collapse.
Cognitive Goals
Affective Goals
Behavioral Goals
Practice serving as a coach
and scaffolding children’s
learning.
35 Minutes
Books (any size, shape, or weight), for use in the compression demonstration
Cameras
Gelatin activity materials (see sidebar on page 2 for recipe)
Large rubber ball (no smaller than a basketball or kickball)
Pencils and other drawing materials
Photos (found online) illustrating tension and compression
Examples:
steel cables of an elevator (tension)
pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (compression)
suspension bridge cables (tension)
bridge towers (compression)
stones of an arch bridge (compression)
the dome of the U. S. Capitol (tension and compression)
Sketchbooks
Styrofoam (one piece of foam for each family)
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
1
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
Arch
Gelatin Shape Recipe
Materials
4 packets of clear unflavored
gelatin (such as Knox)
1 pinch sugar
1-1/4 cup boiling water
Plastic ice cube trays and/or
cookie sheets
Directions
Mix all dry ingredients
together.
Boil water.
Add boiling water to dry
ingredients and stir slowly for
three minutes. DO NOT MAKE
BUBBLES.
Pour mixture into ice cube
trays and cookie sheets. When
filling ice cube trays, fill each
cube to the same level but
don’t let tops run together.
HINT: It may be easier to pour
mixture if you first put it into a
measuring cup with a spout.
Get rid of any bubbles that
may have formed, by poking
with a utensil.
CAUTION: Tray with mixture
is hot. Handle with potholder.
Put tray in refrigerator, NOT
FREEZER, and wait one hour
until fully set.
To remove cubes, use finger or
butter knife to release. Bricks
will be sturdy, so pry away.
See diagram below for
suggested cutouts of cookie
sheets.
HINT: Wash tray and cookie
sheets before reusing for
second batch.
Note: This activity was adapted
from Steven Caney’s Ultimate
Building Book by Steven Caney
(October 2006, Running Press
Kids).
Column
Compress
Dome
Gravity
Horizontal
Load
Structure
Tension
Vertical
A curved structure that serves as a support (show shape by drawing
on board)
A supporting pillar, consisting of a base, shaft, and capital
To press together or force into smaller space; condense; compact
A hemispherical roof or ceiling (show shape by drawing on board)
The force that pulls things toward the earth
Parallel to the horizon
Something that is supported by a structure
Something that is constructed
A stretching force that pulls on a material
Perpendicular to the horizon
Space Requirements: One room with some open space for participants to move around
during the session
Staff Requirements: 1-2 facilitators
Prior to the Session:
Prepare photographs of buildings in the neighborhood.
Prepare the pans of gelatin and cut different sizes and shapes for participants.
Prepare photos that illustrate the concepts noted in the Materials list.
Introduction:
5 Minutes
Materials: N/A
ACTION
SAMPLE TALK
If your group completed Session
1: Orientation, review the
highlights. Remind participants
that they will be working
together to learn about the built
environment and will use their
sketchbooks to reflect on their
own learning.
If you were here last time, you
might remember that we talked
about ways that parents could
coach their children, what we
wanted to learn about buildings,
and how we could use our
sketchbooks to record what we’re
thinking and doing.
Introduce today’s lesson about
push and pull (compression and
tension).
Last week, we tried to guess
how buildings stand upright.
Today, we’re going to look at
two different forces that act on
buildings. These forces are “push”
and “pull.”
TIPS & TRAPS
Take the comparison between the
“invisible” structure of buildings
and the human skeleton a step
further by having participants
stand up and think about what is
going on beneath their skin that
allows them to stand.
Possible Cut-Outs for Gelatin
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
2
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
Activity:
25 Minutes
Materials: Rubber band, foam, rope, books, rubber ball, photographs,
gelatin activity materials
ACTION
Introduce the terms “tension”
and “compression” or “pull”
and “push.” Give parent-child
pairs rubber bands and a piece
of foam to follow along with the
demonstration.
SAMPLE TALK
Tension: Take a thin rubber band
and pull it with your hands. What
is happening to the rubber band?
You are putting the rubber band
in tension and the band becomes
longer. Whenever a part of a
structure becomes longer, it is in
tension.
Compression: Now take a piece
of foam and push on it. What is
happening to the foam? The foam
becomes shorter in the direction in
which you push. Whenever a part
of a structure becomes shorter, it
is in compression.
TIPS & TRAPS
In order to be age-appropriate
for children ages 5-8, use
the words “pull” and “push”
rather than “tension” and
“compression.”
Help kids make a personal
connection to buildings by telling
them that today they will have a
chance to act like buildings and
imagine how a building would
feel if it were alive.
The amount of lengthening and
shortening in a structure is usually
so small that is it is impossible to
see it with your eye. But engineers
and architects still need to make
sure that these two things are
balanced.
Invite children and parents to
practice using their bodies to
understand how it feels to be
a building that is in “push” or
“pull.”
Stand back-to-back with your
partner. Gently lean—or push—on
your partner. Think about how
you feel.
Have individuals place a few
thick books on their heads to feel
compression.
Let’s be columns.
Face your partner and hold
hands. Gently pull back. Think
about how you feel. Are you
balancing each other? What
happens if one of you pushes
or pulls too much? How do you
think a building feels if something
pushes or pulls on it?
Take a book and
rest it on your head.
Think about how
your head feels
with the book on it.
How do you think
it would feel if you
put three books on
your head?
Highlight the pressure, stretching,
and bending that the participants
feel. Discuss how these are the
same forces that architects take
into consideration in their work.
Compare what they are feeling
to a column. If they don’t know
what a column is, explain it and
show a photograph.
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
3
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
ACTION
Hold up a picture of an arch.
Have two people lean against
each other’s hands.
Test how far apart the partners
can stand before the arch begins
to collapse.
Give each pair a rope. Have
groups create suspension bridges
by having two people act as piers
holding a rope as the bridge.
SAMPLE TALK
Let’s make arches.
Face your partner again and
press your hands against your
partner’s hands.
Take a small step backward.
Keep taking small steps backward
until you can’t press your hands
with your partner’s anymore.
What shape are you in? Are you
pushing or pulling?
Now, let’s make a bridge. Some
bridges are made by having
strong vertical pieces (indicate the
piers in the photograph) that are
connected by the other parts of
the bridge.
You are going to be the vertical
pieces. That means you are
standing up tall. The rope is what
is going to connect you.
TIPS & TRAPS
Compare this to an arch, which
uses compression to balance its
own weight and the weight piled
on top of it.
Show a picture of the St. Louis
Arch (search online for a good
image).
Ask individuals to report where
in their body they feel the most
pressure.
Use the picture of the suspension
bridge to illustrate this concept.
Identify that the piers are being
compressed, while the rope is
under tension. Ask if there is
more tension when the piers
stand closer together or farther
apart.
Take turns standing closer to your
partner and then farther away.
How does your rope change
as you and your partner move?
What does this tell us about
making a bridge? A bridge needs
to have the right balance of
tension and compression—push
and pull—or else it will not be
stable.
Show a picture of a dome (or
point to one in the environment).
Take out the rubber ball. Ask
the group to create a dome by
having two people make an arch,
leaning their hands against a
large rubber ball.
Keep adding pairs of individuals
until there is no room. Then take
the ball away and ask the group
to report what happens.
Now let’s all work together to
make a dome. Has anyone ever
seen a dome?
(Participants create the dome.)
Why did we all fall? Everybody
fell down when I took the ball
away because we were all
pushing on the ball together and
all our pushes were keeping it in
place.
Show participants the
photograph of a dome.
A dome works by using a
combination of tension and
compression.
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
4
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
ACTION
Introduce the next activity,
the goal of which is to enable
participants to observe
compression by manipulating
gelatin blocks.
Child explains how his building is
experiencing compression.
Friends collaborate on a tricky
structure.
Facilitator demonstrates compression using weight.
SAMPLE TALK
Let’s take a closer look at tension
and compression. I’m going to
give each group a tray of gelatin
blocks and a book. Use the
shapes to build a structure. Do
you see the force of compression?
Where? How does this compare
to the force of push you felt when
you were acting like buildings a
few minutes ago?
TIPS & TRAPS
See the sidebar on page 2 for
the gelatin shape recipe.
Note: Build with the gelatin blocks
in the same way you would any
toy “building block” system. The
blocks formed from the ice cube
trays can be stacked to create
columns. The flat pieces can be
used to form roofs and floors.
Point out the books that the
groups have as part of their
materials.
All building materials are subject
to compression (and tension),
even if we can’t see the forces
in action. It’s happening and
it impacts all materials. Some
forces that cause compression
include the loads of other building
materials on top, the force of
gravity, live people walking
around, furniture, the roof, etc.
Take a book and press on a
gelatin block. What happens?
Can you see the force of
compression? (Point out that the
block flattens and spreads out,
due to the pressure upon it.) How
do you think this compares to the
force of “push” in real buildings in
the neighborhood?
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
5
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
ACTION
Facilitator and child consider how
to put gelatin pieces together.
SAMPLE TALK
Invite the group to come back
together. Ask participants to
look at photographs of famous
buildings that exemplify tension
or compression. (Refer to the
photos in the Materials list and
print images of the structures from
the Internet.) Ask the group to
identify the forces of push and
pull in the buildings.
Friends problem solve together.
Closure:
Let’s look at these pictures. Let’s
see where we can find examples
of tension and compression.
Hints to identifying tension and
compression in your photos:
The point at which a roof
connects to a wall is an
example of compression (the
roof is pushing down on the
wall).
The point at which a traffic
light connects to the wires
running over a street is an
example of tension (the wire is
being pulled by the traffic
light).
The floor of a building is an
example of both tension AND
compression. The load (e.g.,
people, furniture, other objects
on the floor) pushes against it,
while the walls pull it.
TIPS & TRAPS
Think about the examples that
the participants have engaged
in during the lesson and tie
these into the observations of
the photographs. For instance,
if you are showing a building
with columns, refer to the activity
where participants were putting
books on their heads to “feel”
the tension of a column.
5 Minutes
Materials: Sketchbooks, pencils and/or other drawing materials
ACTION
A finished gelatin building shows
tension and compression.
Ask participants to spend two
minutes adding a page to their
sketchbooks. Ask participants
to focus on one thing that made
them smile or laugh, one thing
that surprised them, or one thing
they question. They can add to
their sketchbooks in the form of
writing or a drawing.
SAMPLE TALK
Now we are going to think about
all we have done today. You
acted out the forces of push and
pull by pretending to be different
structures. Then, we observed
the force of push by playing
with gelatin blocks. Did anything
surprise you? What do you have
questions about? Did anything
make you laugh? (Pause here to
share.)
TIPS & TRAPS
Encourage caregivers to serve as
coaches and scribes as children
complete their pages.
Be sure to collect the sketchbooks
before participants leave for the
day.
We’re going to use our
sketchbooks to write and draw
about what you did and thought
while you were working together.
Caregivers: You can help by
asking questions and being the
scribe. Work together to figure out
what you want to draw and write.
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
6
The Built Environment: Hands-On Education Activities
ACTION
Distribute and describe the
homework assignment.
SAMPLE TALK
Today’s homework lets you
continue thinking about pulls
and pushes, or tension and
compression, that are all around
us.
TIPS & TRAPS
Encourage participants to do the
activity, but remind them that it is
optional.
Take a close look around your
home. Tension and compression,
or pulls and pushes, are
everywhere! Be a tension and
compression detective. Look at
three different objects in your
home: a table, a chair, and a
bed. Imagine what it would feel
like to be each of these things.
What would it feel like to be a
bed and have people jump on top
of you?
For the After-School or Classroom Teacher
In the Introduction, ask students to share the homework they completed and their thoughts
about the process of completing it.
Encourage different students to take turns being partners as they practice being a building.
The Closure section offers a good opportunity to have students Think, Pair, Share: Think
about what they want to record in the sketchbook; Pair with a friend to talk about the idea;
and Share it with the class.
As an alternative to the suggested assignment, homework could be to reenact some of the
session activities at home with a family member and then write about that experience.
Acknowledgments
The Built Environment was made possible thanks to a grant from the National Science
Foundation.
The Built Environment and All Content © 2009 Chicago Children’s Museum
7