Tips for Structure Teams

Verses Foiled Again: Session Overview

• Summary of Challenge
• Structure
• Aluminum Foil, Wood & Glue
• Testing description
• Presentation elements
• Creativity of “Foiled” story
• Team-written verse
• Integration of published verse
• Creativity & Workmanship of prop or piece of scenery made only of
Aluminum Foil, Wood and Glue

• Tips / Q&A for Structure Teams

 Structure
• Read Challenge, Clarifications, Rules of the Road,
Team Manager Guide
• Structure Specification Details
• Structure made out of Aluminum Foil, Wood & Glue
max dim of Wood: 1/4” (E), 1/8” (M), 1/16” (S)
• 7.5” ≤ Structure height above tester surface ≤ 9”
• Structure wt. ≤ 25 grams (E), 20 grams (M), 15 grams (S)
• An opening that can accept a 2” circular column must run
the entire height of the structure
• Structure can only touch the top surface of the Tester
Base, the bottom surface of the Pressure Board and the
safety pole. On tester base, structure is single unit.
 Tester setup

Top of red tape is

1” below top of pole
27” above floor surface
Metal Weights
Pressure Board Team Designed
Structure

7.5” to 9”
Floor surface
Traditional Tester

Structure Under Test

Presentation Theme: Verses! Foiled Again!

• Story
• Creativity of Story, incl. how a character is Foiled
• Presentation/Integration of Team-written verse
• Presentation/Integration of Published Verse
NOTE: Team must cite the publication on the Tournament Data
Form or it will not receive score (see Challenge 6.b.iv)
• Creativity & Workmanship of prop or piece of scenery
made only of Aluminum Foil, Wood & Glue

• Two Side Trips

NOTE: Cost of all items on stage ≤ $100

 Simultaneous Testing & Performance
• Setup, performance and weight testing, all within 8 min.
• Team decides how performance and testing is staged

Setting up

weight testing

performing Props
8 MINUTE PERFORMANCE
 Structure Testing
• Weight placement rules
• Adult assistant can help: ≥ 25lbs (Elementary & Middle Level)
(however, must be directed by team member and must share load)
• Weight placement ends if:
1) presser board touches any of 4 support posts,
2) weights reach 1” below top of pole (effective 27” pole)
(but a team can remove weights and continue weight placement),
3) 8 minute period ends, team elects to stop

52 in Globals
Typical size weights: 40 in Affiliate
5, 10, 25, 35, 45 lbs
28 in Regional
Presser Board ~ 10 lbs
Pole - 28” floor to top of pole
Don’t underestimate the kids!
(this stack over 500 lbs)
 Closeup of a Tester

 Loaded with structure,

• Base alone
pressure board & weights

Pressure Board
supported ~1”
above
corner posts
by structure
 Structure Scoring

• Weight Held Ratio

• Weight Held (in lbs) divided by Weight of
Structure (in grams)
• Creative Structural Use of Aluminum Foil
in the Structure Design
 Overall Scoring

• Official Weight Held (140 pts) 35%

• Use of Foil in Structure (25) 6%
• Story Elements (75) 18%
• Two Side Trips (60) 15%
• Instant Challenge (100) 25%
 Tournament Day

• Bringing in Props, fixing everything

• Check-in (Structure checked in & weighed)
• 8 minute Presentation
• Instant Challenge
• Closing ceremonies
 General Hints & Comments

• Insure that team correctly interprets requirements

stated in Challenge
• Try to get a parent or teacher to build a tester, or see
if you can do a test somewhere else (contact
Regional Challenge Master). (guide for building
structure tester available at www.madikids.org )
• The cost of materials used solely for testing &
experimentation (i.e., test structures) is NOT included
in your Challenge budget for tournament
 Intro to Teaching Basic Structure
• Wood
• Aluminum Foil
• Glue
• Tools
• Construction Area
• Forces
• Designing
• Jigs
• Summary
 Wood

• Wood comes in a variety of dimensions (sticks and

planks).
• Hobby stores carry balsa and basswood (basswood
generally denser and heavier)
• USA Balsa and SIG has a large assortment of wood (
www.sigmfg.com)
• Factors to consider
• Weight
• Strength
• Ease of use
Strength of Balsa Compared to other woods
 Aluminum Foil

• Commercially available Aluminum Foil sold in

rolls or sheets from which pieces can be cut
• Aluminum Foil that is ≤ 200 micrometers (.008
inches) thick is acceptable (e.g. most regular
and heavy duty aluminum foil available in retail
stores meet these requirements)
 Helping teams learn about
glue characteristics
• Glue
• Expose team to many different types of
glue, read directions
• Hot glue (fast prototyping method)
• Super glue (CA glue)
• Wood glue (Gorilla glue)
• Epoxy
• Carpenter’s wood glue (Elmer’s)

• Factors to consider
• Strength
• Drying time
• Weight
• Ease of use

Provide Adequate Ventilation !

 Tools & Safety

• Tools such as saws, X-acto knives, and razors can be used

to cut wood. When any sharp tool is used, sharp edges
should always be directed away from flesh.
• Let team members experiment with cutting, sawing, and
sanding wood with various tools. Encourage them to
explore any tool they think will allow them to build
better/easier.
 Useful tools

• X-acto fine tooth razor saw

• Plastic holder holding a single edge razor blade

Other useful building items:

• Flat tile or mirror
• Building square
• Emery boards, sand paper • small aluminum mitre box for razor saw

All tools should be readily available to consumers

and of the team’s own choosing
 Other Useful Things to Have

• Gram scale accurate to 0.1 grams

• Permits weighing wood and completed structures
• Ohaus has a low-cost one (<$90) but you can
probably borrow or get access to one (school lab,
workplace, post office, police station (ask for
confiscated scales)).
• Hair Dryer
• Speeds up glue drying
• Removes excess moisture from wood (weight)
 More Useful Things to Have

• Structure Tester
• TM or other parents are allowed to construct a
tester for the team
• Instructions are available
(www.madikids.org/tournament.cfm)
• Try borrowing a tester
• Weights
• Olympic style flat metal weights (2” hole)
 Construction Area

• A large open table, where team can place building jigs,

weigh wood, saw and cut materials, assemble, & finish
structures
• Cover the table top (sheet of thick plastic or masonite)
(unless you like scratch marks to give it that antique look).
• Make sure that work areas are kept well ventilated,
especially when teams are using glues with harmful vapors.
 Forces at Work

 Compression

• Tension
 Shear
 Qualities of good structures
• Strength
• Buckling is a failure mechanism where long thin
members loaded in compression end up “bowing”
(& eventually breaking) near the middle
(Depends on length, cross-section and material)
• Stability
• Many structures “fail” because they start to lean
-- and the leaning loads one side of the structure
more than the other.
 Basic structure design
• Sources for basic design ideas
• Any books with pictures of structures (water towers, antennas, watch
towers, cell telephone towers, power line towers, etc.). Take them
on field trips.
• Introductory structure books (see list later in presentation)
• Small scale experiments for basic single structure
• Give teams short-term challenges such as structures out of soda
straws and tape to hold up books
• For those adept with balsa wood, construct structures out of balsa
• Focus on BASIC principles, such as which structural members hold
up weight, and which pieces provide stability
Real World Examples

Keywords:

Water tower
Electrical tower
Construction crane
 Building to a plan
• Plans
• Can be drawn on graph paper or more consistently using a
computer
• Plans take design ideas and provide a blueprint for building
• Allows them to keep records of designs and performance
• Team manager should encourage team to brainstorm alternate
assembly orders/processes. However team decides which they
like best.
 Using Jigs
• It would be Interference for a Team Manager to insist the
team use a jig, but it is OK to expose them to the concept of
jigs.
• “construction jigs” to hold pieces in place for gluing,
• Simple foam squares (thick pink insulation) (with aluminum square or other
straight edges)
• pin drawings to foam ( Dress T-pins are easy to use)
• pin wood to drawing and against square forms
• Metal background and magnets to hold pieces
• Custom wooden frame jigs
• Teams must build the jigs that they use
 Experiment

• Let team build and test structures

• Help them learn what broke
• Remind them to keep a log
• Let them figure out how to improve design
• Keep experimenting
 Thoughts on
Structure Teamwork

• Try and involve all team members early

on
• Everybody can contribute design ideas
• Have team explore their skills and competencies in
all areas related to the challenge
• As season progresses, insure that
everyone is involved with some aspects
of solution
 Final Thoughts

• Keep it simple, straight, level, and well-glued

• The goal of ALL DI problems is to encourage the kids

to learn, stretch themselves and have fun. Kids that
really enjoy the structure problem will begin to see
the structure in everything around them. They will
question WHY things they see were designed the
way they were. This awareness, appreciation and
curiosity is perhaps the greatest benefit this problem
has to offer.
 Good Texts to Teach Kids Structure

- Messing Around with Drinking Straw Construction, Bernie Zubrowski,

Little, Brown & Co, Ltd, 1981, ISBN 0-316-98875-8, 164 pgs, Grades 3-Adult

- Building Toothpick Bridges, Jeanne Pollard, Dale Seymour Publications,

Palo Alto, CA, 1985, ISBN 0-86651-266-7, 32 pgs, Grades 5-Adult

- Structures, Bernie Zubrowski, Cuisenaire Company of America, White

Plains, NY, 1993, ISBN 0-938587-35-8, 96 pgs, Grades 5-Adult (Excellent)

- The Art of Construction, Mario Salvadori, Chicago Review Press,

Chicago, IL, 1990, ISBN 1-55652-080-8, 200+ pgs, Grades 6-Adult (Excellent)

These can be hard to find in bookstores or libraries. However, they all

can be ordered on the web from www.amazon.com

Check out our MADI sales table for books on structures and building
 Useful Websites for Information

http://structure.texasdi.org
great tutorial site for new structure teams (Diary of a Balsa
Goddess)
http://www.farnorthdi.org/ResourcePages/Structure/Stru
cture_Team_Resources.htm
lots of great tips and resources for structure teams
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/index.html
Great interactive tools for kids to learn about structure and
forces
http://www.madikids.org
Resource links for this presentation, Intro presentation and
How-to guide for building your very own tester
 Useful Websites for Buying Balsa
and other hobby woods

http://www.sigmfg.com
Very high quality balsa, spruce, basswood. CA glue (tips) and tools.
Tell them the balsa is for Destination Imagination and they may give
you a discount on the balsa portion of order. Shipping is free for some
minimum size order (ask).

http://www.zimsweb.com/balsa/
Great links for balsa structure information. This site sells balsa at
specific weights. You pay more for the pre-sorting. They are very
responsive and let you know right away what they have.