PVC Tower Build Challenge

This past semester I took a class at my university that focused on learning how to teach pre-K through High School students STEM-related subjects. One of my favorite learning activities that we designed and conducted with real students was a PVC pipe tower-building challenge. We gave teams of students kits of materials and then challenged them to build the tallest tower with what was available.

In this Instructable I would like to share with you the specific material list and activity procedure we used, however, feel free to modify it for whatever suits your needs. After all, this challenge is all about creativity!

The materials needed for each group are:

1. PVC pipe pieces
2. 6ft x 10
3. 4ft x12
4. 2ft x 6
5. Duct Tape x 2
6. Thin rope or string (20ft long)
7. Scissors
8. Measuring tape

Optional materials are some small cones to section off each team's available build area and a small whiteboard and marker for students to draw out ideas.

For the exact lengths and number of PCV pieces in the materials list you will need 13, ten-foot pipes cut in a very specific way.

Ten of the pipes should be cut once at the 6 foot mark, two should be cut at the 4 and 8 foot mark, and the last pipe should be cut into five, 2ft long pieces. See the picture above for a diagram

A flat, level, open area such as a sports field or parking lot is the perfect place to conduct this activity. Take each of the material kits and space them out about 20 yards apart. The optional cones can be used to help mark off each group’s designated build area. 

Now all you need are some excited participants! As before, modify the procedure to suit your specific needs.

The general procedure was as follows

1. Explain the activity and rules
2. Each team will get 45 minutes to build the tallest possible tower using the materials provided
3. The measuring rope should be taped to the tallest part of the tower and allowed to hand freely
4. At the 30-minute mark take a measurement and record the current height in the event of a tower collapse in the last 15 minutes
5. Taking inspiration and even copying designs from the towers you see around you is allowed
6. Any sabotage or purposeful destruction of any kind will immediately disqualify your entire group
7. Break the students up into groups of 6-8 and assign each group and one teacher to a build station
8. Begin brainstorming construction methods and techniques
9. The optional board and marker can come in handy here for visualizing complex ideas, however demonstrating with the pieces themselves is also very effective.
10. Start building!
11. At the 30-minute mark take and record the current height of the tower
12. At the 45-minute mark, stop building and take a final measurement

From here you can go a variety of ways. If you want to make it a real competition, announce the team with the tallest standing tower! You can also have many different contests and awards such as “most unique” and “most stable.” Its up to you!

How to measure the height of the tower:

The way to measure the height of each tower is to take the rope and gently pull it so that it makes a straight line down to the ground. If it touches the ground and there is rope left over, measure the extra rope and subtract it from the length of the measuring rope to find the height of the tower. If the end of the rope is hanging above the ground, measure the distance between the ground and the end of the rope and add it to the length of the measuring rope to find the height of the tower.

The way to measure the height of each tower is to take the rope and gently pull it so that it makes a straight line down to the ground. If it touches the ground and there is rope left over, measure the extra rope and subtract it from the length of the measuring rope to find the height of the tower. If the end of the rope is hanging above the ground, measure the distance between the ground and the end of the rope and add it to the length of the measuring rope to find the height of the tower.