Gumdrop Geodesic Dome
Supplies, instructions, resources, and worksheets are below!
Project Description
Geodesic domes are sphere-like structures made up of interconnected triangles. Geodesic domes are commonly found as climbing domes at playgrounds. In this activity, you will build a geodesic dome using toothpicks and gumdrops. Once it is built, you can test its strength.
Activity Time
About 20 minutes
Supplies Needed
25 Toothpicks
11 Gumdrops
Investigative Worksheet
Learning Objectives
Basic engineering and construction principles
Understand forces at work
Investigating and working with triangles
Strengthen problem solving
Vocabulary Terms to Understand
Look up each word and write their definition.
mass
volume
triangle
sphere
force
sustainable
dome
structure
compression
tension
engineer
Instructional Video
Instructions
1. Attach five toothpicks together using the gumdrops to form a flat pentagon (five-pointed) shape. You should have one gumdrop at each point and a toothpick along each edge.
2. Poke two more toothpicks into each gumdrop, making the new toothpicks point upward.
3. Take five new gumdrops and attach them to the top of the new toothpicks, putting two toothpicks into each gumdrop, to form triangles. You should end up with five triangles.
4. Attach a toothpick between the top points of the triangles you just made, connecting the triangles together. This uses five toothpicks, and will create another pentagon shape, this time at the top of the dome.
5. Take five more toothpicks and poke one into each of the five gumdrops that make up the top pentagon. Arrange the new toothpicks so that they are pointing up. Then poke all five toothpicks into a gumdrop in the middle, and at the top, of the dome. Your geodesic dome is finished!
6. Test its strength. Gently press down on the top of your geodesic dome. If it does not break, try carefully pressing down on it a little more.
The design of a geodesic dome allows it to support a large amount of mass compared to the structure’s own mass and size. You should have seen that the geodesic dome could easily support your hand as it pressed down on the top of it. You would need to apply a lot of pressure before the dome would break. The triangles distribute any force applied to the top of the dome to the rest of the structure.
More Resources
A Geodesic Dome
How to Build a Geodesic Greenhouse
How Geodesic Domes Work
Wikipedia: Geodesic Dome
Questions
What makes a geodesic dome so strong?
How many triangles are in your geodesic dome?
What are geodesic domes used for?
What are some geodesic domes made throughout history?
What are the features of geodesic domes?
Who was Buckminster Fuller?