What do you think of when you think of Paris? For me, it’s the Eiffel Tower. There are many historic, exciting landmarks in this beautiful city, but the Eiffel Tower has to be one of the most iconic, and so we had to build our own version during our study of France.
We used sugar wafer cookies. I bought two big packages of chocolate ones and a smaller package of vanilla, and we arranged ourselves into teams. I set a timer for 30 minutes, and with a fair share of cookies each, we attempted to make our towers.
This is a very simple project, but it can have great educational lessons. We studied the shape, construction, and history of the tower, and those lessons came out during this activity. Then, when the time came, we used peanut butter as glue to hold the cookies together. Just plan out how you want to stack the cookies to get your chosen shape, and carefully spread peanut butter where the joint will be.
This project just lit My Big Helper up. She was all over it! We had spent the day learning about the Eiffel Tower, and she excitedly tried to be true to the actual structure – counting landings, legs, etc, to make a recognizable representation. She even reported that she knew why I chose these cookies: because they already had a cross-hatch design stamped on them that resembled the lacy ironwork of the actual tower!
My Big Helper’s finished tower looked like this. She is VERY proud of her tower! Although … she won’t mind eating it, either.
Studying the Eiffel Tower? Check out these great resources!
What are your thoughts?