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This week has been a bit windy. That fact coupled with news of tornadoes in various parts of the country made us remember another older blog that didn’t quite get posted when schools were canceled. For this week’s “throwback Thursday,” we are remembering Mrs. Cook’s sixth-grade science class.

The students in Mrs. Cook’s 6th-grade earth science class were challenged to use their knowledge on how to make an earthquake safe building. They were given three materials to use to construct their earthquake proof building: toothpicks, cardboard, and marshmallows. Their building was to be three stories tall and had to withstand an earthquake. The students then tested their finished product with an earthquake simulation. They placed their building at the epicenter (a pan of jello) and the lithosphere (a table) and then shook the table for 15 seconds. The structure could not fall apart or topple over. Many survived the earthquake with just a few collapses and one was deemed “condemned”.