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.
Tweet
Sharethis:
Careerslink:StructuralEngineer
Structuralengineersareinterestedineverythingtodowithbuildingsandbuiltstructures,suchashouses,
hospitals,officeblocks,bridges,oilrigs,shipsandaircraft.Theyworktounderstand,predictandmeasure
aspectssuchasthestrength,stabilityandhowrigidthestructuresare.
Theyarealsoresponsibleforchoosingtherightmaterials,suchasconcrete,steel,timberandmasonry,to
meetdesignspecificationofthestructure.
Attributes:observant,committed,tenacious
MoreSTEMatHome
Share 0
NEWSLETTER
Your email address *
Are you… *
School name, or enter ‘none' *
Subscribe!
Wesendoutnewslettersinfrequently,youcanoptoutatanytime,andwewon’tpassyourdetailsontoanyoneelse.Thereare
currently530subscribers.Yourdetailswillbeheldinaccordancewithour privacypolicy,andyoucanunsubscribeatanytime.
LEGALPOLICIES&NOTICES
PrivacyNotice&Cookies
Disclaimer
GETINVOLVED
PlanningyourVisit
GetInvolved
PartnerSchools
META
Login
Entriesfeed
Commentsfeed
WordPress.org
©NorthumbriaUniversity2014-20
Thissiteusescookies.Bycontinuingtobrowsethesite,youareagreeingtoouruseofcookies.
OK Moreinfo
Recommended
