What you need
- 10 sheets of old newspaper per builder
- One roll of cello tape, or thread if you have no tape
- A steel katori to place on top as the final test
- A measuring tape or a scale, to settle arguments about height
How to play
- 1
Set the rules and stop talking
Ten sheets, tape, twenty minutes. It must stand alone with nothing leaning on it, and hold the katori for ten seconds. Do not explain how. The not-explaining is the activity.
- 2
Let the first tower fall
Almost everyone starts by stacking flat sheets. It collapses. Say nothing. Watching your own design fail is the fastest teacher in the room.
- 3
Ask one question
When they are stuck, ask 'is a flat sheet strong, or a rolled one?' One question, then quiet again. Let them test it themselves.
- 4
Build the second version
Most children discover rolled tubes and triangles on their own by the second attempt. Let them rebuild from scratch rather than patching the first tower.
- 5
Test with the katori
Place it on top together. Count to ten out loud. A tower that holds for eight seconds is still a good tower — say so.
- 6
Measure and write it down
Note the height and the design on a scrap of paper. Next weekend, try to beat it. A record turns one afternoon into a running project.
What your child is learning
Honestly stated — this is what the activity actually builds, not a list of everything it might touch.
- Generating your own solution instead of following instructions
- That a failed first attempt is normal, not a verdict on you
- Practical ideas about structure — tubes are strong, wide bases are stable, triangles hold
- Working to a real constraint of materials and time
Give a seven-year-old a kit with instructions and they follow the instructions. Give them ten sheets of raddi and a problem, and they have to invent something. Only one of those is engineering.
This is also one of the few activities that stays interesting for a whole afternoon, and the material costs nothing — the pile of old newspapers under the bed is already the right size.
Resist helping
This is genuinely difficult. Your child will build something that is obviously going to fall, and you will know exactly why. Let it fall. The moment you fix the design, it becomes your tower and they stop thinking.
Keep your input to questions, and no more than one every few minutes. “What happened there?” “Which part gave way first?” “What would you change?”
Variations that keep it alive
- Two builders, same materials. Siblings or a parent competing side by side, ten minutes, no talking to each other.
- Bridge instead of tower. Span two chairs a foot apart, then load it with coins until it drops. Count the coins.
- Fewer sheets. Do it again with five. Scarcity produces better ideas than plenty, which is a lesson worth meeting at eight.
- No tape at all. Only folding, rolling and slotting. Much harder, and the towers get genuinely clever.
Keep the winning tower on a shelf for a week. A build that stays visible gets improved. A build that goes straight into the bin does not.
Published 4 August 2026 · Suitable for Early schooler, Big kid