Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Buildings and Earthquakes
Do you think you can build a house that can withstand the shaking from an earthquake? In this activity, students design and construct model building that will be tested on a shake table with a force sensor. Activity includes questions...
Ruth Patrick Science Education Center
Ruth Patrick Science Education Center: Shaking It Up With Earthquake Engineering
Students will learn basic information about earthquakes and their impact. They then follow the engineering design process as they construct earthquake-resistant buildings using toothpicks and marshmallows. The buildings are tested using...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Earthquake Safe Structures
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How buildings can be made safer from earthquakes.
Museum of Science
Ei E: Shake Things Up: Engineering Journal [Pdf]
A 34-page student journal of worksheets to accompany a lesson unit on designing buildings that will withstand an earthquake. [SEE: http://eie.org/sites/default/files/es_educator_guide_2014_10_09.pdf] First, they work on simple...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Why Do Buildings Fall in Earthquakes?
Explains what happens during an earthquake to cause buildings to fall down, and what features give buildings a better chance of surviving one. Includes a video, background information and links, a multiple-choice quiz, and a discussion...
Other
Inside Science: Building an Earthquake Resistant Home
Engineers at Stanford University have designed a building that sits on a seismic isolator and is earthquake-resistant. When an actual house was tested on a shake table with a powerful earthquake simulation, the structure itself was...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Earthquake in the Classroom
Students will learn how engineers construct buildings to withstand damage from earthquakes by building their own structure with toothpicks and marshmallows. Students will test how earthquake-proof their buildings are by testing them on...
![Tech Museum: Building for the Big One [Pdf] Lesson Plan](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/411264/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0xmdm2my0xd3vtenpxlmpwzw.jpg?1589993199 "Tech Museum: Building for the Big One [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Other
Tech Museum: Building for the Big One [Pdf]
This resource presents a project where students design and build structures that can withstand an earthquake. The project can include an extension where students look at the factors of soil type and proximity to fault in their design....
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Build an Earthquake City
Students learn about earthquakes and how they effect structures. Student then apply their knowledge by trying to build an earthquake resistant city.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Building an Earthquake Resistant Structure
How can you use the engineering design process to build a structure that can stand up to an earthquake?
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Earthquake Safe Structures Study Guide
Review the main concepts of earthquake-safe structures.
Other
Un/isdr: Stop Disasters!
The goal of this online game is to save lives after a disaster. Students choose a scenario and try to minimize the impact of a disaster. They explore how to build safer villages and cities as they learn about disaster risk reduction.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Faulty Movement
In this activity, students are introduced to faults. They will learn about different kinds of faults and understand their relationship to earthquakes. The students will build cardboard models of the three different types of faults as...
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Musical Plates: Designing an Earthquake Resistant Structure
A lesson where students look at how the sudden movement in an earthquake causes a building to collapse, and how to design a building that can withstand it.
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Musical Plates: Engineering Application: Keeping Afloat
A instructional activity that looks at how to design a building so that it will withstand an earthquake and not sink or lean over.
PBS
Nova Teachers: The Day the Earth Shook: Classroom Activity
Challenge your students to design a building that will withstand an earthquake. Using materials like 3x5 cards and paperclips, students design three different buildings and test their effectiveness.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Pop Goes the Geyser!
Our home, Earth, is a living planet. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are proof that the geological forces that shaped our planet and created the land masses are ongoing. An amazing example of geologic activity that is less damaging is...