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Post-Visit Activity: Construct a Goal Post

Resources

STEM Specialist Activity | STEM Career Connection: Structural Engineer

Challenge your students to plan, build, test, and refine a goal post like the ones at U.S. Bank Stadium during Minnesota Vikings football season.

Suggested Materials

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Toilet paper tubes
  • Paper towel tubes
  • Craft sticks
  • Tape
  • Construction paper

Additional Possible Materials

  • Straws
  • Modeling clay
  • Index cards
  • Aluminum foil
  • Skewers or dowels
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Cardboard

Predict

  • What materials will be best to make the base of the goal post?
  • What materials will be best to make the “arms” of the goal post?
  • How will you make sure that the goal post stands on its own?

Plan

  • What do you need to think about in order to engineer a goal post that stands up?

Play

  • “Buffet Style” materials:
    • Students sketch a design and label the parts and materials they’ll need.
    • Students collect their materials, following their material list, and start building!
    • With leftover construction paper, students can fold a football (you’ll find a video tutorial in the Resources section) and test their goal post.
  • Limited material building challenge:
    • Hand out a tray of materials. Example: two toilet paper rolls, a paper towel roll, four popsicle sticks, a piece of construction paper (8×11.5), and 12 inches of tape.
    • Ask students to sketch a design for their goal post and start building!
    • With leftover construction paper, students can fold a football  (you’ll find a video tutorial in the Resources section) and test their goal post.

Ponder

  • What materials were easier to work with? What materials were difficult to work with? Why?
  • What challenges did you encounter when building your goal post? How did you overcome those challenges?
  • What would you change to improve your goal post? Why?

Extension

  • If you try scaling up the size of the goal post, what new challenges will you face?
  • Time challenge: Add a time constraint to the “Limited material building challenge” above.
  • Explore different materials to increase the accuracy of the flicking football.