Design and Technology – stable structures

Friday 13 June 2025

This half term, KS1 are taking part in some Design and Technology.

First, we looked at the design process.

PLAN – MAKE – EVALUATE

This week, we have been looking at what makes a stable structure.

A stable structure is strong, has as flat base and is free-standing.

We moulded playdough into different 3D shapes and made predictions about which would be the most stable and why.

In our classes, we placed each structure on a flat surface (a whiteboard) and tipped it. We measured how high we could lift the board until the structure started to roll off.

In 1A and 1/2B, the pyramid was the most stable. In 2C, the cuboid won!

 

After this, we made some structures using paper and masking tape. We balanced books on each structure to see which was the strongest and most stable.

The cylinder was the strongest because it does not have any corners or weak points. This meant the weight of the books was distributed more equally.

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