6th graders build card towers

6th grade IB Technology students found out that it takes a good foundation to build a tower, especially if the tower is made of index cards. Each group was given 5000 index cards and 30 minutes to build the tallest card tower they could. They were give 1 to 2 minutes to plan their towers, but after that time was up, no verbal communication could take place. They could communicate, but only through hand signals or eye contact. Students learned team work, communicating in different ways, don't waste time, problem solving, and most importantly their towers needed a broad base. Once time was up and the towers were measured, their teacher helped them work through the IB Design Cycle to see how their project fit into the different stages of the cycle.