Survive the Quake Engineering Kit

Lower Age: 4
Upper Age: 11
Website: https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/stem/building-engineering/survive-the-quake-engineering-kit/p/DD121
Price: $39.99
Year Added: 2021
Survive the Quake Contents
Survive the Quake Engineering Kit, by Lakeshore Learning, is a game where children build structures out of provided blocks in hopes that the structure is strong enough to withstand different intensities of simulated earthquakes. Item may be purchased from product website.

Materials include an earthquake simulator platform, 30 plastic building blocks, and an instruction manual. 

Through Survive the Quake Engineering Kit, children learn problem solving skills, design skills, and the science behind earthquakes and seismic design. Children must stack building blocks to build their own structure with the intent for the structure to be strong and durable. They can test the strength of their structure through the motorized earthquake simulator platform. There are five levels of intensity that users can test their designs on. If the structure that children create using the blocks falls down after using the earthquake simulator, children must analyze their structure and alter it as they see fit to achieve their goal. In addition, the instruction manual includes information about the science behind earthquakes and best practices in structural design to withstand earthquakes.

This kit is especially spectacular because it provides context for the challenges that users complete in the game. Survive the Quake Engineering Kit is the perfect gift for a young structural engineer!

Framework Categories

Issues, Solutions, and Impacts (ISI)
Apply SEM Knowledge (SEM)
Engineering Thinking (EThink)

Moore, T.J., Glancy, A.W., Tank, K.M., Kersten, J.A., Smith, K.A., & Stohlmann, M.S. (2014). A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of Precollege Engineering Education Research, 4(1), 1-13.