Building Big

1
Building Big

• Newspaper Skyscraper

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Skyscraper Basics

• The term "skyscraper" was coined in the 1880s,
• shortly after the first tall buildings were
• constructed in the United States -- but the
• history of tall buildings dates back hundreds of
• years. Since the Middle Ages, engineers have
• engaged in a battle for the sky.

3
Before there were skyscrapers, there were towers

• Made of heavy stone, towers had thick, sturdy
• walls, but the rooms were dark and cramped
• too many windows would have weakened the
• structure.

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With steel came the first modern skyscrapers

• During the Industrial Revolution, engineers
• began experimenting with two new materials
• iron and steel. The 10-story Home Insurance
• Building in Chicago was the first tall building
  to
• be supported by a steel skeleton of vertical
• columns and horizontal beams.

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New structural designs made skyscrapers even
lighter and stiffer

• As skyscrapers grew taller and taller, engineers
• were faced with a new enemy wind. Today's
• tallest skyscrapers, which are almost 1,500 feet
• tall, must be 50 times stronger against wind
• than the typical 200-foot buildings of the 1940s.
  

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Newspaper Skyscraper

• Your challenge is to build a skyscraper out of
  the
• newspaper that has been provided for you.
• Your skyscraper should be tall, strong enough to
• stand on its own and it should have structural
• design that will make your skyscraper unique.
• Materials- 3 full sheets of newspaper, scotch
  tape
• Newspaper Skyscraper Challenge sheet

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Examples of Skyscrapers
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Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

• What kind of base would be a better option to use
  for supporting the skyscraper?