TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Building Our Bridge to Fun!
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...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Building Towards the Future
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...
PBS
Pbs: Who Builds Big
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.
Other
Sprk: Sphero Bridge Stem Challenge [Pdf]
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...
PBS
Pbs: Building Big: Bridges
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...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Bridges
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...
Other
Lincoln Public Schools: Applied Technology & Engineering: Bridge Busters [Pdf]
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...
The Tech Interactive
The Tech Museum of Innovation: Bridging the Gap [Pdf]
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...
Other
University of Cincinnati: Project Step: Build a Bridge
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.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Truss Destruction
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...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Natural Frequency and Buildings
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...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Feel the Stress
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...
Cornell University
Cornell University: Cornell Center for Materials Research: The Physics of Bridges [Pdf]
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.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Spaghetti Bridge
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.
PBS
Pbs: Nova: Super Bridge
Online companion to a NOVA program on bridges. Includes teacher resources, including a class activity through which students construct and test their own bridge,
PBS
Pbs: The Bridge Challenge
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.
University of California
University of California: Roman Building Technology and Architecture
This site offers information on Roman Engineering, Roman Baths, Roman Aqueducts, roads, bridges, buildings and concrete.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Boom Construction
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...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Does It Work? Test and Test Again
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....
Other
Bridge Sight Software: The Bridge Site: Software
This resource provides links to a wide variety of Bridge Engineering Software. Click on the link to learn about the software.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Suspension Bridge
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.
Read Works
Read Works: Building a Bridge
[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.
PBS
Pbs Teachers:paper Bridge
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).
PBS
Pbs Building Big: The Labs
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.