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Investigate what makes a strong and stable bridge design. Build and test a paper bridge, or use a free online tool to create bridges that can stand during earthquakes, or design trusses (frameworks to support bridges).
- Build The Best Paper Bridge
Bridges come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. What makes...
- Build The Best Paper Bridge
- Method
- Tips
- Warnings
Decide on what type of bridge you want to build. Follow a common bridge design style, like a beam or truss design—or come up with your own. A truss bridge uses horizontal and diagonal pieces to create sturdy structures for each side of the bridge. This is the most common and popular style of model bridge to build. A beam bridge is a simple structure that uses a horizontal beam placed across ...Sketch out your design on paper. Use a pencil and paper to sketch out the design of your bridge, which will help you determine the scope of the project and how many skewers you will need. Or, design your bridge using a computer program[2] X Research source or mobile app. You may also find ready-made designs or templates for a model bridge online or in a simple engineering book. Use graph ...Layout your skewers and cut them to size. Place your wooden skewers out on top of your sketch to find the lengths you’ll need. Cut any of the skewers down to size using craft shears or a craft knife. Note that you may have to use several skewers attached together for longer sections, or to add strength to any given piece. Plan to have a large quantity of skewers to be prepared. If you don ...Choose glue or string for assembly. Decide if you’d like to use wood glue or string to connect the skewers for your bridge design. If you use glue, make sure it is wood glue that will dry clear if you don’t want it to show. Apply glue to skewers in small dots to avoid excess glue oozing out when you press skewers together. Try using a q-tof or toothpick to help apply small amounts of glue ...If you’re using the bridge to test its weight bearing capacity, be prepared for it to break when you test the weight. You may want to try several different designs to test which one bears weight the best. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0Skewers and the shears or scissors used to cut them are very sharp. Children should have assistance from a parent for this project. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 4- 304.2K
- Popsicle Stick Bridge Challenge. This bridge building challenge is also a great introduction to STEM challenges. Children are simply given popsicle sticks and elastics.
- Building Blocks STEM Bridge Building. Another really simple STEM challenge is this building blocks bridge. Simply give children plastic building blocks and a sheet of blue paper for this “Build a Bridge STEM Challenge“.
- Bridge STEM Challenges. Hang onto the building blocks from the last challenge for this STEM activity. Challenge the kids to build a bridge that can hold a can of food – or several cans!
- STEM Challenges with Acorns. How neat is this bridge building idea? All you need are acorns and play dough. Can kids build an acorn bridge that supports a LEGO car?
Nov 17, 2023 · Building a bridge requires a process divided into several stages, including planning, design, and the physical implementation of the structure.
- Michele Santoro
Oct 21, 2020 · Design and construct a bridge for a local city that will have a high strength-to-weight ratio and resist collapse. Have students use their understanding of the engineering design process—and a lot of wooden craft sticks—to achieve their goals.
Bridges come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. What makes a bridge the strongest? Find out in this fun activity as you build simple bridges with paper and test to see how much weight they can hold.
Bridge Project. Grade Level: 4th - 6th; Type: Physics, Engineering. Objective: This project explores the basic physics of bridges. The goal is that the student will develop an understanding through experimentation of which shapes are the most structurally strong, and that many factors are taken into account in engineering and building.
