Building Houses: Build a Cardboard Tube House

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Build a house you can fit inside, using cardboard tubes. Variation of this activity includes building for a toy (easier) or building a house the right size for a stuffed animal or a garage for a toy car. Also included is an option to build houses inspired by those around the world (harder). This activity focuses on the understanding of sizes and shapes: Can I fit in this if I stand up? if I sit? Do we have enough cardboard tubes to make a triangular roof? This activity is available as a webpage and a downloadable pdf.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Learning Time:
45 to 60 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 14
Resource Types:
Activity, Model
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • Cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls (or, make tightly rolled tubes using newspaper and tape)
  • Tape
  • Scissors

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Architectural Engineering
      • Civil Engineering
    • Technology
      • Construction
  • Mathematics
    • Geometry
      • Solid Geometry
    • Measurement
      • Units of Measurement
      • Size and Scale
  • The Nature of Technology
    • The Design Process
      • Troubleshooting and Maintenance
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Formulating Explanations

Informal Categories

  • Arts and Crafts
  • Model Building
  • Physical Activity

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • Mixing in Math

Rights:

Funding Source:

  • NSF, ESI-0406675 and DRL-0713537