Ask Ollie
Paper Column Strength Showdown
Here's one to try together!
Which shape can hold the most books? Fold, roll, predict and test Ollie's tower challenge!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- falling books when the column collapses can hit feet or fingers, so keep feet and fingers clear
What you need
- Paper, 3 sheets of printer paper
- Painter's tape, 1 roll (any tape works)
- Notebook, 1 sheet for recording results
- Crayons or markers, 1 pencil
- Book, 10 to 15, similar size
- Kid scissors, 1 pair, for trimming (optional)
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Gather paper, tape, books and a pencil, and clear a flat patch of hard floor for testing.
- Fold one sheet into a triangle column with three equal sides.
- Fold a second sheet into a square column with four sides.
- Roll the third sheet into a round tube and tape it.
- Make all three columns the same height.
- Write down which shape you think will hold the most books. Ask: Which shape do you think is strongest, and why?
- Stand one column upright on the floor and stack books on top, one at a time.
- Stop when it crumples, then count and write down the books. Ask: What did the column do right before it gave way?
- Test the other two shapes the same way and compare your numbers.
- Now try a twist! Tape four tubes together, or roll a tube from two sheets. Ask: Will more paper make it stronger? How many books do you think it will hold?
- Show your friends, or invent a new shape! Can you beat the champion? Ask: What new shape could hold even more books?
Play it again
- Height test: make tall and short columns of the same shape and see which holds more.
- Thick or thin: make a tube from two sheets and compare it to one sheet.
- Team tower: use all your columns together as a table and see how much weight they hold.
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