Assignment
We made two of the five platonic solids out of straws. We then had to experiment with mechanical connectors in order to attach the straws into stable 3D forms.
Reflection
This exercise was interesting for me. I built the 3D tetrahedron first. I used a lot of tension in the yarn in order to keep the triangle faces stable. When I connected the faces into the 3D tetrahedron, I made sure there was enough tension to keep the form stable, and indeed it was as stable as I expected. I then repeated this method for the cube, making sure to keep the yarn taught, and, instead of being stable, the square faces collapsed into rhombuses. When I put it together, the structure did not hold the cubic form. My design solution was to use wire, a more rigid linear material, in each of the corners. This helped the cube keep its form.
