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Educators & Children
Making Bricks
 Bricks have been a common building material for as long as people have been constructing permanent dwellings. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Pre-Columbian America used clay as a raw material to make bricks. Here is an experiment for making your own brick. [This exercise should be done outdoors, since it will be messy!]
- Use a shoebox (or a cardboard box or plastic storage container of a similar size) as a mold.
- Mix different combinations of dirt, sand, clay, grass, weeds, straw, flour and water. (In order to be historic, you may not mix in any cement, plaster, or tile grout.)
- Tightly pack this mixture into your mold.
- Allow your brick to dry in the sun, or in a warm place, for several days.
- Remove the dried brick from the box. (If it is still damp, allow it to finish drying.)
A brick is considered good if it meets the following tests:
- It can be rolled to the building site without crumbling or falling apart.
- It can withstand the weight of other bricks stacked on top of it.
- It dried so well that it will not wash away in the rain.
How will your dried brick measure up?
- Roll your brick end-over-end five or six times. Does it crumble apart?
- Stack heavy books, rocks, or other bricks on top of your brick. Does it break or crumble?
- Submerge your brick in a bucket of water for 30 seconds. Does it fall apart?
If your brick doesn't fall apart after these three tests, then congratulations! Your brick passes historic brick standards!
Content Last Modified on 2/17/2009 10:54:52 AM
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