Domes: Straw Shapes & Geodesic Domes

Which shape is more stable, a triangle or a square? Our 4th grade students learned which shape had greater stability between a triangle and a square. They made predictions, created their shapes from straws then tested their predictions to learn which shape had the greatest stability. We discussed how that shape would be used in large structures and then used the triangle, to build geodesic domes using toothpicks and gumdrops/marshmallows.
*We learned that the triangle was the more stable shape which was surprising because we thought the square would be more stable because it's bigger and has a flatter surface. - Aiden, Isabelle, and Santiago, Fred Douglas
* We learned that the angles of triangles support the force of the weight better than the square did. - Justin, Kiera, and Jacky, Fred Douglas
* We predicted that the square would be more stable because we thought the triangle would be weaker.  We learned that the triangle was actually more stable because it could evenly put weight on two sides. - Lucas and Malaya, Joe Wright
​*  We predicted that the triangle would be  more stable and learned that it was more stable because the weight was the two sides held up to the pressure. - Arii and Erick, West Side
* Making the geodesic domes was very challenging but it was also fun and we got to eat the materials when we were finished! - Isaiah and Kaylee, West Side