A photograph of the Mechanical Engineering Team for the Middle School Earthquake Challenge. M.S. Earthquake Challenge 2015-2016 ME Team

Earthquakes can cause catastrophic failure to structures that are not designed or built to withstand them. Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates grind or collide with each other and cause strong vibrations before falling back to rest.

A team of student engineers is designing an earthquake simulation table to test the strength of structures created by middle school SMILE clubs. That's you! This challenge introduces the process used to create a design, and possible materials you may want to use in your design.

A photograph of the structure designs. Building the Shake Table and Preparing for the Challenge

The team is back, and over the next month and a half, they will be building the earthquake simulation table. It is important to remember that teamwork is key to completing tasks and quickly accomplishing goals. We want you to succeed, so in this video, we will introduce you to a few structure design concepts.

Stay tuned for more information on building materials and designs from the ME Team.