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A 10-minute design challenge with everyday materials made structural engineering tangible.
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Community outreach · Looking back at 2026
A look back at bringing hands-on earthquake engineering to our community, one spaghetti structure at a time.
From the park · 2026
At Science at Stockmens Park, GEA brought earthquake engineering out of the classroom and into a hands-on community activity. The challenge began with a simple question: can you build a structure that survives shaking?
Spaghetti, marshmallows, and tape turned that question into something to build and test. The activity connected seismic waves with structural design, giving visitors a way to explore engineering through their own ideas.
The point of the challenge was more than keeping a tower standing. It was a chance to observe what happened, talk through why, and consider what to change in the next design.
A 10-minute design challenge with everyday materials made structural engineering tangible.
A skateboard shake table connected the design challenge to the motion of an earthquake.
The shake-test report invited teams to explain their observations and propose a design improvement.
Keep exploring
The event may be behind us, but the learning can continue. The original activity video, science explanations, supply list, building steps, timer, and shake-test report are all here to revisit.
Activity resources · Video
Revisit the instruction video from the event, or use it to try the challenge with your own group. The written science explanations and building steps are below, too.
Activity resources · The science
Earthquakes send energy through the Earth and along its surface. These four wave types formed the science behind our challenge.
Body wave
Push and pull the ground in the direction the wave travels. These are the first waves to arrive.
Body wave
Move the ground perpendicular to the direction the wave travels. They arrive after P waves.
Surface wave
Move the ground from side to side horizontally, perpendicular to the direction the wave travels.
Surface wave
Move the ground in a rolling motion, both up and down and forward and backward.
Activity resources · The engineering challenge
Build time: 10 minutes
Step 1 of 6
Gather 12 spaghetti noodles, tape, and 24 mini marshmallows. Your challenge is to build a structure that stays standing when shaken.
Use marshmallows to connect the noodles and form the base of your structure.