Pupils from a local school put their engineering skills to the test at the University of Bristol’s   Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (EERC) last Friday [June 29].

The pupils, aged 14-15, from St Peter's High School in Gloucester worked in teams to design and construct small-scale model buildings using only MDF (medium density fibre) board, paper, string and glue.  The models had to stand up to artificial earthquakes generated on the shaking-table in the University’s Earthquake and Large Structures laboratory.

The school had been preparing their materials and planning their designs using the University’s IDEERS (Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools) website to get advice on how engineers design earthquake-resistant buildings. 

At first the models swayed gently as they experienced very small earthquakes.  Gradually, the magnitude of the earthquakes was increased, shaking the models violently and eventually causing them to collapse.  Through this experience, students learnt how buildings behave during earthquakes and why some of them fail.

Dr Wendy Daniell, a research fellow in the University’s Department of Civil Engineering and who developed the challenge with Dr Adam Crewe, said: “The project was an excellent way to show young people that civil engineering is an interesting and valuable career. Particularly in the light of recent disasters from landslides, floods and earthquakes, the project showed the students the work that engineers can do to protect people from the Earth’s natural hazards.

“By doing research for the challenge, building their designs, and seeing their model buildings tested, the students were able to link the knowledge and skills they have learnt at school to real world challenges.”