Tower of Babel Challenge
                                   			
Source:  Ken Proudfoot, President of the Enterprise Institute of Rhode Island and Development Director for the Rhode Island MicroEnterprise Association in Providence RI. 

The activity supports the Entrepreneurship Content Standards/Performance Indicators as follows: 
•	B.09 Enlist others in working toward a shared vision, 
•	B.19 Make decisions,
•	B.20 Develop an orientation to change, 
•	B.25 Develop tolerance for ambiguity, 
•	B.27 Demonstrate creativity, 
•	D.01 Explain the nature of effective communication, 
•	D.05 Explain the nature of effective verbal communications, 
•	D.08 Make oral presentations, D.23 Treat others fairly at work

Goal:  	Construct the tallest (highest) free-standing tower using only the materials provided by the Teacher.

Time Needed:		25-40 minutes

Teams Needed:		Divide the class into 2-person student teams

Materials:			
Each team is given the following materials:
•	Ziploc bag with 25 colored toothpicks & one-half of a colored 3x5 card
•	Ziploc bag with 25 gum drops & one-half of a colored 3x5 card
Teacher will need a tape measure

Rules:		
•	Structure must stand up.
•	Each student may only use one hand to build the structure.  Their other hand must be placed behind their back.
•	Teacher is sole arbiter for measuring and determining the height of tallest structure.

Skills Explored:	Planning, Creativity, Communication, Teamwork, Coordination, Engineering, Design, Re-Thinking, Testing, Re-Design, Observe Best Practices

Outcomes:	     
•	Learn how to work with a partner for a common goal
•	Learn how to use limited amount and type of materials in a creative way
•	Learn how communication and sharing provides better results 
•	Learn how to quickly design & re-design a project
•	Learn to adapt to changing competitive conditions (i.e., another team building a higher tower)

Notes:  
•	We have run this activity in each of 8 schools.  We announce winners at Youth Entrepreneurship Day in May.  It is always amazing to see the creative ways students have of trying to outdo another team.  
•	Record height:  27.5 inches! 
•	In one large class we divided class into teams of three students.  The best (and funniest) results are from two-person teams.  More teams, more fun!