How do you get a roof 210 metres in diameter to stay up? You make it dome-shaped. The Louisiana Superdome is the world’s largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts—a dome! Try making your own low-tech dome.

For a printable version of this project, click here.

1. Form a base by connecting five gumdrops in a ring.
2. Make a triangle on one side of the base using two toothpicks and one gumdrop.

3. Repeat step 2 all the way around the base until you have five triangles.
4. Connect the gumdrops at the top of the triangles with toothpicks. You should have ten triangles.
5. Insert a toothpick into each top gumdrop and use one gumdrop to connect them all.
6. To continue the project, start over again and make a base with six sides instead of five sides and see what happens.
7. Eat the remaining gumdrops. Unless it’s too close to dinner time.

Your dome is constructed entirely of triangles. Triangles are often used in engineering because they are stable shapes. When a load is put on a triangle, its sides work together to keep the triangle stable. Because it’s not easily deformed by the loads placed on it, the triangle is the key to building strong structures.