While getting caught up on my reading in Feedly this morning I discovered a.
new comic from The Oatmeal. The comic addresses the question, “how tall can a LEGO tower get?” (Its a copyright-protected work so youll need to see it on The Oatmeal site). The comic is based on a 2012 BBC article entitled.
How Tall Can a LEGO Tower Get? The comic and the post prompted me to turn to YouTube for videos about building huge LEGO towers. YouTube did not dissatisfy me in my search for videos that explain the math and physics highlighted in the BBCs article and The Oatmeals comic..

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The video describes the math that was used by researchers at The Open University to figure how tall a LEGO tower would get prior to the blocks collapsed under their own weight. Of course, the mathematical response presumes that the tower wouldnt topple over before reaching its maximum height.

The comic and the post prompted me to turn to YouTube for videos about developing giant LEGO towers. The video discusses the math that was used by researchers at The Open University to figure how tall a LEGO tower would get before the blocks collapsed under their own weight. Before showing trainees the post or the video mentioned above, I d have them make guesses as to the answer then compose out lists of the variables that they can think of that would influence how tall the tower could get. After they see the video I d have a little class contest to see who can construct the tallest tower with the LEGOs readily available in my class.

Applications for Education.
The concern of “how high can a LEGO tower get?” is a fun timely for diving into conversations about mathematics and physics. Before showing trainees the short article or the video discussed above, I d have them make guesses as to the answer then compose out lists of the variables that they can think of that would affect how tall the tower might get. Then after they view the video I d have a little class contest to see who can build the highest tower with the LEGOs readily available in my class.