All text on this site copyright © 2001-2004 Carol A. Johmann, all rights reserved.
Individual activities on this site may be printed for use at home or by a teacher for use in a single classroom.
The reproduction of any activity, in whole or in part, for an entire school or for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
Original art, photographs, and the Dr Buzz logo may not be reproduced in any form for commercial or educational
use without the written permission of its owner, Carol A. Johmann. Contact her for all inquiries.
Kids act out the roles of architect and engineer as they plan a model city, design their own skyscraper, and figure out how they're going to wash windows 80 stories high! Chapter by chapter, they'll "take the challenge" -- filling a gaping hole in the ground with a foundation, topping it with a frame of columns and girders, and finishing it off by putting on the skin. They'll construct a working elevator, solve the problem of bracing a skyscraper against the wind, and learn to make tall buildings a pleasure to enter.
Skyscrapers!
Super Structures to Design & Build
by Carol A. Johmann
illustrated by Michael Kline
Williamson Publishing Company - A Kaleidoscope Kids!® Book
Ages 8-14, 96 pages, index, $10.95 US
Over 100 illustrations and photos
Published September 2001
ISBN 1-885593-50-3
Reviews
"Design the Future, Discover the Past. Amateur architects can learn about each stage of skyscraper-making from the planning stage to putting on the "cladding," or exterior, in Skyscrapers! Super Structures to Design and Build ...A brief history of the skyscraper precedes a series of hands-on learning activities, including determining the best foundation and then constructing a frame. The author intersperses information about the Sears Tower, the Woolworth Building and San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid."
--- Publishers Weekly
Grades 3-6 --"From Chicago's Montauk Block, built in 1881, to the Millennium Tower in Tokyo, still in the planning stages, this lively text describes the history and structure of the world's tallest buildings and offers some facts and enticing projects. The well-organized chapters move logically from the earliest planning stages and history of these buildings through structural challenges, demonstrated with both anecdotes and activities, and conclude with a look toward the future. It should be noted that although the World Trade Center is not prominently featured, it is described as a standing skyscraper...Activities include laying a concrete floor with sand, cornstarch, and two Popsicle sticks; testing a building frame made from toothpicks and marshmallows; and building an elevator with a small cardboard box and an empty thread spool...this companion to Johmann and Elizabeth J. Rieth's Bridges! is a solid purchase."
--- Rita Hunt Smith, Hershey Public Library, PA
School Library Journal
"Cartoonlike ink drawings give the book a child-friendly look, while black-and-white photos provide a more realistic view of the subject. Made to encourage hands-on learning, this is an informal looking, yet informative introduction to skyscrapers."
---Carolyn Phelan
Booklist
Carol Johmann, Ph.D.
Children's Author
