Measure Up: Designing Spaces

You need: a long tape measure · metre ruler · recording sheet

1. Walk 10 normal steps along a tape and divide the distance by 10 to find your pace length.
2. Measure your hand span, arm span and the length of your foot.
3. Estimate the length of the classroom, a netball court and a corridor using your paces.
4. Measure each with the tape and work out the difference and the percentage error.

How you'll know: Your paced estimates are within about 10% of the measured lengths, and you know which benchmark works best for which job.

Go further: Compare everyone's pace length on a dot plot. Why might a builder never use paces for a final measurement?

You need: tape measures · compass or phone compass · 1 cm grid paper · ruler and pencil

1. Measure the boundary of your site and the position of fixed features (trees, paths, taps, doors, walls).
2. Choose a scale (for example 1 : 100, so 1 cm = 1 m) and draw the boundary on grid paper.
3. Add the features in the right places, a north arrow, a scale bar and a key.
4. Add arrows for sun (from the north in Aotearoa), the prevailing wind and water flow in heavy rain.
5. Swap maps with another group and check one measurement each on the real site.

How you'll know: Someone who has never seen the site can find each feature using only your map.

Safety: Stay away from roads and car parks while measuring, and wear sun protection outside.

Go further: Make a second map from an aerial photo (such as a council or LINZ map viewer) and compare it with your measured one.

You need: a 12 m loop of string or rope · pegs · grid paper

1. With the loop of string, make rectangles on the grass or grid paper: 1 m × 5 m, 2 m × 4 m, 3 m × 3 m.
2. Calculate the area of each and record it in a table.
3. Now use a wall or fence as one side, so the 12 m only has to make three sides. Test different widths.
4. Graph width against area for both cases and find the biggest.

How you'll know: You find that the 3 m × 3 m square gives 9 m², and that against a wall a 3 m × 6 m bed gives 18 m², and you can explain why.

Go further: Would a 3 m × 3 m bed actually be practical to garden? Design the best bed that you can reach the middle of (no more than about 1.2 m wide).

You need: tape measure · calculator · prices for bagged soil (40 L) and bulk soil (per m³) from a local supplier

1. Measure the inside length, width and height of the bed in metres (for example 2.4 m × 1.2 m × 0.3 m).
2. Calculate the volume: 2.4 × 1.2 × 0.3 = 0.864 m³.
3. Convert to litres: 0.864 × 1000 = 864 L.
4. Divide by the bag size (864 ÷ 40 = 21.6) and round up to 22 bags. Cost the bags and the bulk option.
5. Decide which to buy, including delivery and the effort of moving it.

How you'll know: Your volume, litres and number of bags are correct for your bed, and your recommendation includes a cost comparison.

Safety: Potting mix and compost can carry Legionella bacteria: wear gloves and a dust mask, open bags away from your face, dampen the mix, and wash your hands afterwards.

Go further: Soil settles by about 10–20% after watering. How much extra should you order?

You need: card · ruler · scissors · tape · a zip-lock bag · a 1 litre measuring jug · rice or water

1. Draw a net for an open 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm box (five squares) on card. Cut, fold and tape it.
2. Line it with the zip-lock bag and pour in exactly 1 litre from the jug.
3. Measure the height the water or rice reaches. It should be very close to the top.
4. Work out how many of these boxes would fit in a 1 m cube (10 × 10 × 10).

How you'll know: Your box holds 1 litre, and you can explain why 1 m³ = 1000 L.

Safety: Do the water test on a tray, and wipe up spills straight away.

Go further: Build a net for a 5 cm cube. How many millilitres should it hold, and why is it not half a litre?

You need: tape measure · calculator · recent rainfall figures (NIWA or MetService) · the school's roof plan or measurements

1. Measure a rectangular tank or container and calculate its capacity (for example 1.2 m × 0.8 m × 0.6 m = 0.576 m³ = 576 L).
2. Work out how heavy it is when full: 1 litre of water has a mass of 1 kg.
3. Measure (or find) the area of one roof. 1 mm of rain on 1 m² is 1 litre, so a 100 m² roof in 20 mm of rain collects 2000 L.
4. How many tanks would one storm fill? How many days of garden watering is that?

How you'll know: Your capacities and rainfall volumes are correct, and you can explain the 1 mm on 1 m² = 1 L rule.

Safety: A tank or bucket of water is a drowning risk for small children. Never leave containers of water uncovered, and never climb into a tank.

Go further: For an aquaponics system, a common starting rule for small home setups is a grow bed about the same volume as the fish tank. Design a grow bed that matches your tank.

You need: two wooden stakes · string · a line level (or a clear tube with water) · tape measure · mallet

1. Hammer one stake at the high point and one 3 m downhill.
2. Tie the string to the top stake at ground level and pull it level with the line level to the lower stake.
3. Measure how far the string is above the ground at the lower stake: that is the rise (the fall of the ground).
4. Calculate the slope: rise ÷ run × 100%. A 15 cm drop over 3 m is 0.15 ÷ 3 = 5%.
5. Add slope arrows to your base map and decide where water will run and pool.

How you'll know: Your slope percentage is calculated correctly, and your map shows where water goes in heavy rain.

Safety: Check with the caretaker for underground pipes and cables before hammering stakes. Keep a clear space around anyone using a mallet.

Go further: Measure the slope in three places and draw simple contour lines. Where would a garden bed need to be terraced like the slopes of Maungakiekie?

You need: tape measures · 1 cm grid paper · card for furniture cut-outs · scissors

1. Measure the room, doors, windows and fixed features, and draw it at 1 : 50 (1 cm = 50 cm, so a 9 m wall is 18 cm).
2. Measure the main furniture and make scale cut-outs.
3. Calculate the floor area and the area per person.
4. Try three layouts. Keep walkways at least 90 cm wide and doors clear.
5. Survey the class about what each layout does well, and choose one.

How you'll know: Your plan is to scale, every piece of furniture fits, walkways meet the width you set, and the chosen layout is backed by measurements and survey results.

Safety: Don't move heavy furniture to test a layout without an adult; test on paper first.

Go further: Build a 3D model of your best layout from nets, and work out the volume of air per person in the room.