Films pour enfants

Build a skyscraper of cubes

Mathematics6-11 years old

Educational activity based on the short film Buildings

« Learning outcomes »

Understand the laws of balance and construction.

« Create an artwork individually or collectively. »

Buildings

Buildings © Decovocal

TitleBuildings

ThemeFriendship, Appearance

Genre & keywordsScience fiction, house, friendship, building, rain, protection

Age (for the film)3-11 years

Duration05 min 00 s

DirectorTomoyoshi Joko

MusicYodhiski Sugita

ProductionDecovocal (Japan, 2018)

Educational activities

Defying construction laws.

For more than 5,000 years, « humans have sought to build the tallest structures » in the world. The Cheops Pyramid, built more than 4,500 years ago, is the largest pyramid in Egypt at 150 meters high. In the Middle Ages, certain cathedrals exceeded 100 meters in height, such as those of Strasbourg and Rouen. The first skyscrapers date from the end of the 19th century in New York.

The tallest building in the world is the Dubai Tower at 830 meters but the Kingdom Tower under construction in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach more than 1,000 meters with more than 170 floors. More information on the tallest skyscrapers in the world on Wikipedia...

« Suggest building the tallest structure possible » using a set of wooden or paper cubes.

« First, compare the sizes of the world's tallest buildings » in the world. The Eiffel Tower is twice as high as the Cheops Pyramid. The Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia will be twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

But « what do these very large buildings have in common? » They all have a pyramid shape.

Secondly, the students, in small groups, will construct their own constructions using cubes, if possible of several sizes. Which will be the tallest, strongest and most stable?

« Among the 8 buildings on the worksheet », which buildings have a pyramid shape?

« Print the materials for this activity... »(https://www.films-pour-enfants.com/fiches-pedagogiques/building-annexe-1.pdf)

Activity sheet written by: Christophe Defaye

Pyramid of Cheops, Google earth
The largest buildings in the world, Christophe Defaye. CC0
Cube towers, Christophe Defaye. CC0