Week 2- Constructing Environments Journal entry This week were assigned the task to build the tallest tower possible out of 40 thin balsa wood strips that were cut up throughout the week. As a group we discussed various methods that would allow us to get as high as possible. We decided to go with a triangular structure as we did last week. Using the glue proved to be a very timely task and resulted quite a lot of mess and and broken balsa sticks, it took quite a while to get the sticks to stay together.
In order to ensure our structure would be stable and not collase during construction we chose to build it on the ground before standing it up. This method took a while and looked as though we were getting little done in the time we were given. Despite this it proved to be quite a valuble method as it allowed us to control the breaks and snaps in the wood without having the tower collapse.
When it came to standng the tower up it was quite obvious that it wasnt as structurally sound as we had hoped. the was quite a lot of leaning and balancing going on, however the tower did manage to stand on its own and touched the roof. Although it didnt win the tallest tower it did come a close second, it was interesting to see the different methods of construction chosen by each of the groups in order to get the tower as high as possible.