Mr. Cormier, from the FAA AVSED division, joined Mr. Day's class for a fun and exciting STEAM project today! We learned about PSI (pounds per square inch) and the work of engineers. Mr. Cormier taught us that circles and cylinders are a super strong shapes, and when they have ridges or folds, they are even stronger. We had two challenges. The first challenge was to have one person hold a piece of paper tight, while a second person pushed on the paper with their hand. Nothing happened to the paper. He asked what would happen if we tried it with one finger instead, and guess what? Their finger went right through, ripping the paper! So all the force being concentrated in one area (your finger tip) makes the paper seem not as strong as if you spread the force out by using your full palm. The other challenge was to build a structure as tall as possible using only rolled newspaper, tape, and printer paper. Did you know that the height of the air traffic control tower determines the size of the airport a city/town can have? Heights of buildings are often determined by city/town ordinances, and sometimes state ordinances. The shorter the tower, the less distance and air space the air traffic controls can see. Our student's worked cooperatively in teams and built upon each others ideas. Check out the amazing structures they created.