Have you ever played Jenga? It’s a game where you stack wooden blocks and try to build the tallest tower without it falling over. Some people are really good at it! In fact, the world record for Jenga is 485 blocks stacked on a single block. That’s some amazing balancing!
One day, a girl named Ashley had a question about building things. She asked, “What’s the tallest skyscraper anyone can build?” That’s a fantastic question! Let’s dive into the world of tall buildings.
Before skyscrapers, the tallest structures on Earth were pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza, for example, was built with over 2 million heavy stone blocks. It was the tallest human-made structure for almost 4,000 years! Then came the Lincoln Cathedral, which was over 500 feet tall. But during a storm, the tallest part fell over because it was just too tall for the building methods of the time.
So, why couldn’t those old buildings be as tall as skyscrapers today? It’s not because the materials weren’t strong. Bricks and stones are very strong. The problem was that stacking them made the buildings too heavy. If they got too heavy, they could collapse or topple over.
Today, we build skyscrapers, which are much taller than the old pyramids and cathedrals. How do we do it? Instead of stacking bricks, we use a steel skeleton inside the building. This skeleton holds everything up, and the walls and windows hang on it, just like pictures on a wall. The first skyscraper to use this method was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago.
Even with a strong skeleton, there’s another challenge: wind. Skyscrapers are like giant sails, and strong winds can push them over. To solve this, builders design skyscrapers in special shapes. Some have spiral shapes to let the wind twist around them, while others have holes to let the wind blow through.
Thanks to these clever designs, we’ve built skyscrapers with 88 floors, 101 floors, and even the tallest one today, the Burj Khalifa, which has 163 floors! But how tall can we go? No one knows for sure, but builders in Japan are planning a skyscraper called the Sky Mile Tower, which will be one mile tall!
That’s all for today’s adventure into the world of skyscrapers. Thanks to Ashley for her awesome question! Remember, there are mysteries all around us, so stay curious and keep asking questions. Who knows what amazing things we’ll discover next?
Build Your Own Skyscraper: Gather some building blocks, like LEGO or wooden blocks, and try to build your own skyscraper. How tall can you make it before it falls over? Experiment with different shapes and designs. Can you make it more stable by changing the base or the shape of the tower? Think about how real skyscrapers use a steel skeleton to stay strong and tall.
Windy Day Experiment: Use a fan to simulate wind and see how it affects your skyscraper model. Try building a tower with different shapes, like a spiral or with holes, and observe which design stands up best against the wind. Discuss why certain shapes might help real skyscrapers withstand strong winds.
Skyscraper Safari: Take a walk around your neighborhood or look at pictures of different buildings online. Identify the tallest buildings you see and compare their designs. Do they have any special features that help them stand tall, like a wide base or a unique shape? Share your findings with your family or friends and discuss why these features might be important.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. Have you ever played the game Jenga? Some people can build some pretty tall towers. For example, the world record is 485 blocks stacked on a single Jenga block. That’s some impressive balancing skills!
Someone named Ashley has a question about building things. Let’s give Ashley a call now. (phone ringing) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Ashley! – I have a question for you. What’s the tallest skyscraper anyone can build? – Oh, that’s a great question! Humans have been trying to build super tall structures for a long time. Before skyscrapers were invented, pyramids were the tallest objects built on Earth. Take a look at the Great Pyramid of Giza. Builders stacked over 2 million heavy stone blocks to make it that high. The pyramid was the tallest human-made structure on Earth for almost 4,000 years, until the Lincoln Cathedral came along. It was once over 500 feet tall, but then something happened.
If you’ve ever built a tower with blocks, you’ve probably noticed that the taller you build, the harder it gets, and that’s what happened to the Lincoln Cathedral. The tallest part toppled over during a storm; it was just too tall. When it was built, people couldn’t construct very tall buildings yet.
Before I continue, I’m curious: why couldn’t those earlier pyramids and cathedrals be built as high as skyscrapers are today? What do you think? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? Well, I’m not sure how you answered, but you might think that the earlier buildings weren’t made of very strong materials, but that’s not really the main issue. Bricks and stone blocks are incredibly strong. The problem lies in the piling up of bricks or stone blocks. You see, buildings back then were made by stacking bricks or stones on top of each other. The taller the building, the more bricks they would use, and the heavier the building would get. If it got too heavy, it could collapse under its own weight or topple over. So, the piling up of bricks or stone blocks is what kept people from making really tall buildings.
Since then, we’ve figured out how to build even taller structures—buildings that are much taller than the first pyramids and cathedrals, structures that seem to scrape the sky. These buildings, called skyscrapers, are now the tallest human-made objects on Earth, and they don’t fall down! How is that possible?
Building a skyscraper involves a completely different method of construction. Rather than stacking building blocks like they did with pyramids or in Jenga, it involves giving the building a skeleton or structure on the inside. This new way of building led to the first-ever skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago. Instead of using piled-up bricks, it was built with a steel skeleton. Since the skeleton was holding the building up, the rest of the structure, like walls and windows, could be hung on the steel beams, similar to how pictures hang on walls.
This changed everything. By building with steel skeletons instead of heavy bricks, builders could construct taller than ever. However, even with a skeleton, there was another factor that could knock it over: wind. A skyscraper is like a giant sail. The taller it is, the more wind pushes against it, and those winds can actually knock a skyscraper down. So, skyscraper builders are constantly trying to find ways to mitigate this problem, like the builders of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world did.
You see the shape of the sides? Why do you think they built it this way? It’s all because of the wind. The spiral shape helps the wind twist around it instead of crashing into it. And take a look at this one. Some skyscrapers are even built with holes in them so that the wind can blow straight through.
By inventing new ways to manage the wind, we’ve been able to build from 88 floors to 101 floors, to the tallest skyscraper in the world, currently the Burj Khalifa, which is 163 floors tall.
That brings us back to our question: how tall can a skyscraper be? Well, no one really knows for sure, but we are confident that we can build much higher than the skyscrapers we have today. In fact, builders in Japan are planning to construct a skyscraper that’s one mile tall, called the Sky Mile Tower. When it’s finished, it will be more than 10 times the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza and twice as tall as the tallest skyscraper we have now.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Ashley, for asking it. Now, with Valentine’s Day coming up, I picked out three questions from the question jar that all relate to the heart. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from, “Does your heart grow?”, “Which animal has the biggest heart?”, or “What’s inside your heart?” So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
