Students must use only the materials supplied for the construction of the structure. The design can be prepared or planned prior to the event, but all construction must occur in the time allotted during the event. The structure will be announced each year on the web well in advance.

Materials supplied by the Science Olympics Committee:

In a ziploc bag:

1. 2.0 m of twine;
2. 12 elastic bands 3.5" x 0.25".
3. 25 toothpicks.
4. 25 Craft Sticks 4.5" x 3/8" x 1/12"
5. 25 wooden coffee stirrers 7" x 0.25" x 1/16"
6. 25 paper clips 2", corrugated
7. 1 30 cm ruler;
8. 1 pair of scissors;
9. 1 pencil;

The following additional materials will be provided for the construction of the structure:

1. 1 sheet of bristol board 22½" x 28½"
2. 4 sheets of bond paper, 8.5" x 11"
3. 10 Sheets of newspaper
4. 2 m of 1/2" masking tape
5. Five paper cups
6. Tennis balls
7. The judges may also supply a mystery item or two.

Materials supplied by each Team:

1. 1 standard stapler filled with staples and labeled with the name of your school.
2. 100 ml of white school glue.

Download the kit list and sources.

The structure must be constructed entirely from the materials given, no outside materials can be used for the structure.

Tower Score = # of tennis balls x height of the tower, measured to the nearest 1 cm.

Team TOTAL Score = Tower Score + Clean Up Score - see below.

• The tower height is measured from the base to the lowest tennis ball. This lowest ball must be viewable, at least in part, so that the height of the tower can be measured.
• The tower must be completely finished and free-standing (self-supporting) at the end of the time limit. No further ball additions or tower modification may occur after 20 minutes.
• Winning tower scores can be in excess of 1200 points!