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    Skyscrapers!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Skyscrapers!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Skyscrapers!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Ebook157 pages57 minutes

    Skyscrapers!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

    By Elizabeth Schmermund and Mike Crosier

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    About this ebook

    Look up, up, up! How do skyscrapers get so tall? Skyscrapers are amazing feats of engineering that kids (and adults!) find fascinating. How do they get so high? How do they stay standing? Who is involved in designing and building these gravity-defying structures?


    In Skyscrapers! With 25 Science Projects for Kids, elementary-aged kids learn about the principles of engineering that are used in building skyscrapers, as well as the history of skyscrapers themselves. Readers also explore the kinds of professionals that contribute to the raising of a skyscraper, from engineers to architects to constructions teams. To answer the burning question on every young engineer’s mind—how do skyscrapers stay standing?—readers discover the important designs used to build tall buildings, including the tube frame, the bundled tube frame, and x-bracing. And by following the evolution of skyscraper design, STEAM-focused students learn how structures have become more stable and more complex through the introduction of design elements and new materials.


    STEAM projects for kids, including experiments with earthquake-resistant materials, testing the relative strength of different shapes, and discovering the effect of vibration on structures, offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while links to primary sources offer ample opportunity for further student-led exploration. Fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and resources keep kids wanting to learn more about engineering design.


    Skyscrapers! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books. In the Explore Engineering set, readers ages 7 to 10 learn the physics behind the things they build: Why does a tower of blocks eventually fall? Why does a tunnel sometimes cave in? Through a series of focused, science-minded activities that require critical thinking paired with creative trial-and-error attempts at building, readers develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, tunnels, and skyscrapers.

    Titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges! With 25 Science Projects for Kids; Canals and Dams! With 25 Science Projects for Kids; Tunnels! With 25 Science Projects for Kids; and Skyscrapers! With 25 Science Projects for Kids.

    Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series for children ages 7–10 integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNomad Press
    Release dateAug 1, 2018
    ISBN9781619306523
    Skyscrapers!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

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      Book preview

      Skyscrapers! - Elizabeth Schmermund

      Titles in the Explore Engineering Set

      Check out more titles at www.nomadpress.net

      Nomad Press

      A division of Nomad Communications

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Copyright © 2018 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from

      the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use.

      The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.

      Educational Consultant, Marla Conn

      Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to

      Nomad Press

      2456 Christian St.

      White River Junction, VT 05001

      www.nomadpress.net

      Printed in the United States of America.

      CONTENTS

      Timeline

      Introduction

      Let’s Explore Skyscrapers

      Chapter 1

      Why Do We Need Skyscrapers?

      Chapter 2

      Engineering and Design

      Chapter 3

      Types of Skyscrapers

      Chapter 4

      Let the Building Begin!

      Chapter 5

      Famous Skyscrapers

      Glossary*Metric Conversions

      Resources*Essential Questions*Index

      Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

      If the QR code doesn’t work, there’s a list of URLs on the Resources page. Or, try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts to find other helpful sources.

      KEYWORD PROMPTS

      TIMELINE

      1853:

      American inventor Elisha Graves Otis develops an elevator with a safety device that keeps an elevator from falling down the shaft if the elevator cable breaks.

      LATE 1800s:

      Steel, instead of iron, starts to be used in buildings. The lower-weight steel allows much taller structures to be built.

      JANUARY 4, 1885:

      The world’s first skyscraper is completed—the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, a 10-story, steel-framed building.

      1889:

      George A. Fuller builds the Tacoma Building using Bessemer steel beams. It is the first structure ever built in which the steel skeleton carries the load of the building, instead of the outside walls doing the job.

      AUGUST 15, 1895:

      The American Surety Building is completed in New York City, becoming the world’s tallest building. Architects begin to compete to build taller and grander buildings.

      MARCH 12, 1930:

      The Chrysler Building in New York City is completed, becoming the new world’s tallest building for a short time.

      APRIL 22, 1931:

      The Empire State Building is completed in New York City. At 1,250 feet, it will hold the title of world’s tallest building for 40 years.

      FEBRUARY 26, 1932:

      The 285-foot-tall Flatiron Building in New York City is completed. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city and is one of the first buildings to use a steel framework.

      APRIL 1973:

      The World Trade Center towers are completed in New York, making them the world’s tallest buildings. 1 World Trade Center is 1,355 feet tall and 2 World Trade Center is 1,348 feet tall.

      SEPTEMBER 1973:

      The Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) is completed in Chicago, surpassing the World Trade Center towers as the tallest building in the world. The tower is 1,450 feet tall, and is the first building to use the bundled tube construction method that soon becomes widely used in skyscraper design.

      APRIL 13, 1998:

      At 1,483 feet, the Petronas Towers in Malaysia officially become the tallest buildings in the world.

      DECEMBER 31, 2004:

      Taipei 101 in Taiwan becomes the tallest building in the world at 1,670 feet and 101 stories.

      JANUARY 2010:

      The Burj Khalifa officially becomes the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet and 160 stories.

      2014:

      Architect Stefano Boeri builds vertical forest skyscrapers in Milan, Italy.

      INTRODUCTION

      LET’S EXPLORE SKYSCRAPERS

      Have you ever traveled to a big city and seen its impressive skyline? Have you ever taken an elevator up, up, up to the top of a building that towers above the rest? Then you know how inspiring skyscrapers can be!

      Skyscrapers are very tall buildings. They are so tall they seem to scrape at the sky. They are normally found in medium-sized to large cities around the world. Skyscrapers are used for offices, apartments, libraries, stores, restaurants, and much more.

      WORDS TO KNOW

      skyline: an outline of land and buildings against the sky.

      skyscraper: an extremely tall building.

      technology: the tools, methods, and systems used to solve a problem or do work.

      engineer: a person who uses science, math, and creativity to design and build things such as roads, bridges, and buildings.

      architect: a person who designs buildings.

      engineering: the work an engineer does, using science and math to design and build things.

      structure: something that is built, such as a building, bridge, tunnel, tower, or dam.

      Our definition of what a skyscraper is has changed during the past 100 years. This has happened as buildings have been built higher than ever before. Technology has helped engineers and architects construct taller and taller buildings.

      During the nineteenth century, a skyscraper was any building that was 10 stories high or taller. But we wouldn’t consider that to be a skyscraper today. Because of modern engineering, a skyscraper today typically reaches at least 40 to 50 stories tall, or around 550 feet in the air. That’s about the size of 55 elephants stacked on

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