Amazing Triangles
On the 24th of February 2013 we were lucky enough to have Mr O’ Donovan into our class and teach us about engineering. First he showed us a PowerPoint presentation about engineering. Later in the presentation he showed us his project of upgrading a shop and showed how he used triangles to keep the building stable while he took some of it down.
Then we got to work at building pyramids. He handed us out cocktail sticks and marshmallows to stick them together. We made triangle- based pyramids and square based pyramids. When we made them he told us to make cubes. Next we made buildings out of the materials but they kept falling down. Then he told us to try use as much triangles as possible. It worked and then we made tall, stable buildings. Then he gave us longer sticks.
With these longer sticks we made bigger buildings. At the end of that we learned that triangles are better for supporting structures than any other shape because they cannot get pushed into any other shape. We really enjoyed our time with Mr O’Donovan.
By Finbarr , 5th Class 