Testing Foundations- How Buildings Work

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Have you ever wondered how tall buildings don’t fall over?  Or how a pole when placed in the ground doesn’t do the same? J has been quite curious about tall buildings and skyscrapers lately and so I decided to do a few quick preschool science experiments on how buildings work. This post is a part of the Kids STEM Activities A-Z Series hosted by Little Bins for Little Hands.

The science of building is actually quite extraordinary and yet logical. I however wonder how many errors they had to endure before they got it right. J also loves building and stacking things and it is also winter- so I decided to put these two elements together.

What You Need for these Preschool Science Experiments

• building blocks (the long ones)
• square blocks
• Snow (dirt or sand)
• container to house experiment

Directions

1) Place your container on a flat surface and then fill about 3/4 of it with snow.

2) Ask your preschooler to place 1 long building block in the snow to stand up. DO NOT specify how deep they should put it.

3) Ask your preschooler to place the second building block deeper than they did the first one.

4) Grab your square blocks. Ask your preschooler to stack 3 blocks on the first long block. Ask them what happened to the long block.  (The tower will fall once the third block is placed.)

5) Do the same for the second long block that is buried deeper in the snow. Ask your preschooler what is happening. If necessary, you may have to say, “The first block fell over because it was not deep enough. Is the second block deep enough? How do you know? We know its deep enough because our building is still standing.

If you love this experiment, don’t forget to follow my Pinterest board that is 100% dedicated to science experiments.

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