Building a Skyscraper

The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third activity in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children about the main structural components of these massive buildings. With this new knowledge, young architects then work in small groups reading through primary source documents from the construction of the Empire State Building, answering a series of questions in order to develop a clear understanding of the process involved in building structures of this magnitude. This is a great activity that demonstrates the impact of the industrial revolution on the growth of American urban centers.