Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Building Our Bridge to Fun!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students identify different bridge designs and construction materials used in modern day engineering. They work in construction teams to create paper bridges and spaghetti bridges based on existing bridge designs. Students progressively...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Building Towards the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This curricular unit introduces students to basic Civil Engineering concepts in an exciting and interactive manner. Bridges and skyscrapers, the two most visible products of Civil Engineers, will be discussed in depth. Students will have...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Who Builds Big

For Students 9th - 10th
Who Builds Big? Learn about careers in engineering and architecture. Scroll to the bottom for more links in this PBS series to find about individuals who build bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams, and tunnels.
Lesson Plan
Other

Sprk: Sphero Bridge Stem Challenge [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
SPRK STEM challenges are fun, interactive activities that challenge students to use creativity and team-work to move through simple steps of the design process in order to build Sphero-based creations. In this challenge students will...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Building Big: Bridges

For Students 3rd - 8th
A collection of resources about bridges that includes basic facts about bridges, challenges faced by bridge builders, famous bridges from around the world, and a lab that helps you understand how different forces affect bridge...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Bridges

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Through a five-lesson series that includes numerous hands-on activities, students are introduced to the importance and pervasiveness of bridges for connecting people to resources, places and other people, with references to many...
Activity
Other

Lincoln Public Schools: Applied Technology & Engineering: Bridge Busters [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
In this activity, students design and build the lightest bridge to support the heaviest load. They investigate different bridge designs and building materials, learn key terminology, and test their prototypes in order to meet the...
Lesson Plan
The Tech Interactive

The Tech Museum of Innovation: Bridging the Gap [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Can your team build the appropriate bridge to fit the needs of various terrains? In this lesson, students will build an assigned bridge in order to increase knowledge of various types of bridges. Students will then engage in a design...
Lesson Plan
Other

University of Cincinnati: Project Step: Build a Bridge

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this two-period lesson, students work in teams to focus on the real-world application of bridge design and construction based on capacity, cost, and aesthetics.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Truss Destruction

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students work within constraints to construct model trusses and then test them to failure as a way to evaluate the relative strength of different truss configurations and construction styles. Each student group uses Popsicle sticks and...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Natural Frequency and Buildings

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about frequency and period, particularly natural frequency using springs. They learn that the natural frequency of a system depends on two things: the stiffness and mass of the system. Students see how the natural...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Feel the Stress

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Working individually or in groups, students explore the concept of stress (compression) through physical experience and math. They discover why it hurts more to poke themselves with mechanical pencil lead than with an eraser. Then they...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Cornell University: Cornell Center for Materials Research: The Physics of Bridges [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students incorporate their knowledge of civil engineering and physics principles as they design and build a bridge within certain parameters while choosing their own materials.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Spaghetti Bridge

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Civil engineers design and construct structures such as buildings, dams, and bridges. We can explore the field of engineering by making a bridge using spaghetti. This bridge is then tested based on the weight it can carry without breaking.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Nova: Super Bridge

For Students 9th - 10th
Online companion to a NOVA program on bridges. Includes teacher resources, including a class activity through which students construct and test their own bridge,
Interactive
PBS

Pbs: The Bridge Challenge

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site from PBS is for any user wanting test their engineering skills. Take a trip to Craggy Rock and help their growing community decide on four new bridges.
Website
University of California

University of California: Roman Building Technology and Architecture

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers information on Roman Engineering, Roman Baths, Roman Aqueducts, roads, bridges, buildings and concrete.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Boom Construction

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Student teams design their own booms (bridges) and engage in a friendly competition with other teams to test their designs. Each team strives to design a boom that is light, can hold a certain amount of weight, and is affordable to...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Does It Work? Test and Test Again

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Testing is critical to any design, whether it be in the creation of new software or building a bridge across a wide river. Despite risking the quality of the design, the testing stage is often hurried in order to get products to market....
Website
Other

Bridge Sight Software: The Bridge Site: Software

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides links to a wide variety of Bridge Engineering Software. Click on the link to learn about the software.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Suspension Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Compare the strength and practical uses of beam bridges and suspension bridges. Investigate how the cable contributes to the stability and strength of a suspension bridge.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Building a Bridge

For Teachers 5th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about two friends who work together to build a bridge. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers:paper Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Investigate the forces acting on a support and make adjustments to give a bridge the strength to support its own weight (the dead load) as well as the weight of anything placed on it (the live load).
Activity
PBS

Pbs Building Big: The Labs

For Students 3rd - 8th
An interactive series of labs describing some basic principles of Physics. The labs demonstrate different basic concepts of physics used in building and creating large structures such as bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams, and tunnels.