Whatyou’llneed

Atoycarorothertoytocrossyourbridge

Materialstobuildyourbridge:

buildingblocksorotherconstructiontoysyoucoulduse.

scrappaper,emptycardboardboxes,toiletorkitchenrolltubesorfoodcontainers.

Clothespegs,Sellotapeormaskingtapeholdandstickthingstogether.

Scissors(ifusingpaperorcardboard)

Overview

BRIDGEBUILDINGCHALLENGE

Couldyoubuildabridgestrongenoughforoneofyourcarsortoystocross?

Usematerialsfromaroundyourhomeorgardentobuildthestrongestbridgepossible.

Thispagewillprint,butlooksalittlefunky.ClickthebuttonforaPDFversionwhichlooksabitbetter.

Printableversion

Scissors(ifusingpaperorcardboard)

Agaptobuildyourbridgeacross–betweentwochairsisagoodplace

Suitablefor:

Age3up

Duration:

About30minutes

Safetynotes

Youknowyourchildrenbetterthananyone,andyoushouldjudgewhetherthey’rereadyforthisactivity.

Youmightwanttothinkinparticularabout

Alwaystakecarewhenusingscissors.

Bridgesmayfalldownduringtesting.

Youmightwanttomakesureeveryoneisoutofthewaywhentestingandthefloorisprotected.

WhattodoStep1

Step2

FirstwatchthisstoryaboutIggyPeck,thearchitect.Thestorylastsabout9minutes.

WhatwasthebestthingIggyPeckbuilt?Whydidyoulikethisone?

WhatdidIggyPeckcreatetosavehisteacherandtheotherchildren?

WhatdidIggyPeckusetobuildthis?

Step2

Step3

Collectyourbuildingmaterialstogether.

Puttwochairsbacktobacktocreateagapofabout20cmtobuildyourbridgeacross.Youdon’thaveto

measurethedistance!

Decidewhatyouwantyourbridgetolooklike.

Howwillyoumakeitlongenoughtocrossthegap?

Willithavesidestostopyourcar/toyfromfallingoff?

Willithavepillarsorarchestoholditup?

WillitbeasuspensionbridgeliketheoneIggybuilt?

Youcoulddrawafewideasbeforeyouchooseoneandstarttobuild.

Step4

Youcoulddrawafewideasbeforeyouchooseoneandstarttobuild.

Testyourbridge.

Canyoudriveyourcaracrossit?

Canyoubalanceyourtoyonit?

Thingstodiscuss

Wasyourbridgestrongenoughtoholdyourcarortoy?

Whatdoyouthinkyoucoulddotoimproveit?

Whichwerethebestmaterialsforbuildingyourbridge?

Whyweretheythebestmaterials?

Didyourbridgebendinthemiddleliketheoneinthephotograph?Howcouldyoustopthishappening?

Howitworks

Whenyouplacedthecaronyourbridge,theweightofthecarmighthavecausedyourbridgetostarttobend.

Ifyouputtoomanycarson,yourbridgewouldcollapse.

Realbridgesaredesignedandbuilttoholdtheweightofthevehiclesandpeoplethattraveloverthem.

Bridgesspreadtheeffectofthedownwardforces(weight)acrossthewholebridge,especiallythebitsthat

Bridgesspreadtheeffectofthedownwardforces(weight)acrossthewholebridge,especiallythebitsthat

areonland.Somebridgesdothisbyusingarches,othersuselongchainsormetalropestospreadtheweight

outtotheedgeswhicharefirmlysecuredonland.

Youcanwatchthisvideotofindouthowsuspensionbridgeswork.

Haveyoueverwonderedhowarealsuspensionbridgeisbuilt?

WatchthisvideotofindouthowtheNorthernSpireBridgeinSunderlandwasconstructed.

Otherthingstotry

Youwillneed:

asheetofA4paper

agaptobuildyourbridgeacross(about15cm)

about10coins(ofthesamecoin)

Makeabridgeusingpaper

Step1

Createyourgapofabout15cmtoputyourbridgeacross.Youdon’tneedtousearuler,justmakethegap

wideenoughsothatyourpaperstaysupwhenputacrossit.

Layyourpaperacrossthegap.

Putyourcoinsonthecentreofthepaperbridge,oneatatime.

Howmanycoinscanthepaperhold?

Step2

Step3

Foldthepaperinhalflengthways.

Putitacrossthegap.Putyourcoinsonthepaperagain,oneatatime.

Howmanycoinscanthepaperholdthistime?

Makeaconcertina.Foldabout2cmofthelongedgeover.

Foldthenext2cmoverintheoppositedirection.

Continuefoldinginthiszig-zagpattern.

Step4

Puttheconcertinaacrossyourgap.Putyourcoinsonthepaperagain,oneatatime.

Howmanycoinscanthepaperholdthistime?

Thingstodiscuss

Whichpaperbridgeheldthemostcoins?

Whydoyouthinkthisbridgedesignwasstronger?

Howitworks?

Theconcertinaismadeupofaseriesoftriangles.Trianglesareoneofthebestshapesforspreadingout

weight.Theytakeforcefromasinglepointandspreaditacrossawidebase.Bridgesmadeoftriangle

sectionsarecalledtrussbridges.

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Sharethis:

Careerslink:StructuralEngineer

Structuralengineersareinterestedineverythingtodowithbuildingsandbuiltstructures,suchashouses,

hospitals,officeblocks,bridges,oilrigs,shipsandaircraft.Theyworktounderstand,predictandmeasure

aspectssuchasthestrength,stabilityandhowrigidthestructuresare.

Theyarealsoresponsibleforchoosingtherightmaterials,suchasconcrete,steel,timberandmasonry,to

meetdesignspecificationofthestructure.

Attributes:observant,committed,tenacious

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