The Arizona STEM �Acceleration Project
2025
Making Sand Stronger:
Sand-crete
Grades: 6-12
Students will create and test a ‘concrete’ mixture made using sand and white glue.
A hands-on activity engaging students in material science and civil engineering.
The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Notes for teachers
Students will make ‘concrete’ from sand and white glue.
The goal is to make a strong material while minimizing the cost.
This engineering activity combines ideas from material science and civil engineering
The original theme of the activity was about strengthening soil for construction.
Discuss soil stability (i.e. how well does soil hold up building?)
Discuss cementation of soil for strengthening
Have students build Sandcrete column with chosen amount of glue.
Test the strength of columns with load test
Calculate strength to cost ratio
Create report
List of Materials
Ingredients:
Clean, loose sand
White glue
water (distilled if possible)
Equipment:
3oz Dixie cups
Mixing bowl
Craft sticks or spoons (for mixing) Graduated cylinder (optional)
Styrofoam plate (for testing)
Standards
HS-PS1-3
Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particle
HS-ETS1-3
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
Objectives:
Students will
(civil engineering)
for strength and cost
Agenda
Use slides to introduce the project (15 minutes)
Describe project details (5 minutes)
Building Sandcrete columns (1 hour)
Let dry (2-3 days)
Test column strength(30 minutes to 1 hour?)
Calculate strength to cost ratio (10 minutes)
Aggregate data from all groups to build data set (10 minutes)
Use data to determine optimal mixture
Assign Claim Evidence Reasoning Lab Report
Intro/Driving Question/Opening
Civil Engineering Question:
How do we prevent this?
Intro/Driving Question/Opening
More General Question:
How do we make a stronger sand castle?
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Suggested group size: 2-4
Overview:
Discuss soil stability (i.e. how well does soil hold up building?)
Discuss cementation of soil for strengthening
Have students build Sandcrete column with chosen amount of glue. Let it dry
Test the strength of columns with load test
Calculate strength to cost ratio
Create report
Assessment
Recommended Assessment: Claim-Evidence-Reasoning writing piece
Students group class data and make a claim on which mixture of Sandcrete is most cost-effective (has the highest ‘strength to cost’ ratio)
Claim: Based on our research (experiment) it is found that the XX% solution mix of Sandcrete has the greatest ‘Strength to Cost’ ratio and is therefore the most cost effective.
Evidence: Use data from class results
Reasoning: Explain why the data leads to this conclusion. Also, suggest a hypothesis as to why this might be the case.
Alternative Assessment: Have students write up individual results as a science/engineering lab report
Differentiation
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
This activity is designed to give students some freedom in how they design and build their columns. They can also propose various techniques to test the columns
The activity can be simplified by giving students a more structured, detailed set of instructions. Glue solutions can be premade and materials can be laid out ahead of time in order to proceed faster and with fewer issues.
Enrichment: Provide students with the overall objectives and guide them toward developing their own experiment, procedures and/or testing methods. The more open-ended the better.
Extension: After finding which mixtures work best, have students revisit the experiment with the new information and find ways to improve the strength or cost effectiveness