Tacoma, Wash. – Annie Wright Upper School for Boys will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the Tallest Stack of Waffles this Friday, December 14, at their downtown campus on Broadway in Tacoma. Along with opportunities to make history and eat a tower of waffles, the boys are using this exercise to investigate what lends structures strength as they prepare to design and build a Tiny House this spring.

The waffle challenge culminates their unit “Architecture & Building: Feats of Strength!” in their Grade 9 Architecture & Design class. In this unit, students experimented with a range of modeling materials to see how tall they could build structures and how resistant those structures could be to a variety of forces. Last week, for example, they used a leaf blower to test how wind resistant their structures could be after learning about the structural crisis of New York’s CitiCorps Center in 1978.

The Tiny House project will be the second for the Upper School for Boys. Last year the finished product was delivered to a Tiny House community in Seattle.

Moving from steel, lumber and concrete, students are examining the structural properties of baking soda, flour, milk and eggs, and what combination of ingredients might give an (edible) waffle enough strength to break the current record (officially 51 cm/21 in, although a group out of Denver who created a 67 cm/26 in stack last summer is awaiting record confirmation from Guinness). The waffles themselves must be regulation size as set forth by the Guinness Book of World Record Committee, and the stack must stand unsupported for five seconds.

“I hope all my students make history in important ways,” said their Architecture & Design teacher Joe Romano, “but this Friday we’ll try to make history in a way that builds community, camaraderie and lasting memories.”

Annie Wright Schools opened their new program for high school boys last year, based on their college preparatory International Baccalaureate academic program for girls but designed as a separate and unique experience. While academic classes are separate, boys and girls have opportunities for intersection in arts, activities and social events. A new state-of-the-art academic building for the boys, currently under construction on the southeast corner of the main campus on North Tacoma Avenue, will open in August 2019, replacing the downtown campus.

The world record attempt will take place this Friday between 10:00 and 11:00 am at 936 Broadway in Tacoma.

Founded in Tacoma, Washington, in 1884, Annie Wright Schools serve students from age three through high school. Annie Wright Lower and Middle Schools offer co-ed programs in Preschool through Grade 8, while separate Upper Schools for boys and girls offer day and boarding options in Grades 9 through 12. Annie Wright is proud to be an International Baccalaureate World School. Learn more at www.aw.org.

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Photo caption: Annie Wright Upper School boys practice stacking waffles and blocks to prepare for their world record attempt this Friday.