Good Activity

This article layed out a fun lesson about bridge building. It would be an easy one to use in the classroom. It is also in a format that would be easy to emulate if creating a different lesson.

London Bridge

This article describes a lesson on experimentation of bridge strength based on tension and compression. It starts out with a nice discussion of bridges in general and gives lots of simple e... See More

This article describes a lesson on experimentation of bridge strength based on tension and compression. It starts out with a nice discussion of bridges in general and gives lots of simple experiments on tension and compression. Then a nice lesson is given on constructing paper bridges.

They Are Not All the Same

This is a neat little activity to help students understand that the shape of an object might explain how a particular object can support more weight. Students measure and record data. They... See More

This is a neat little activity to help students understand that the shape of an object might explain how a particular object can support more weight. Students measure and record data. They determine how shape determines strength using everyday materials such as pennies and paper. There is an adaptation for younger students and there is an extension to look at different kinds of bridges such as suspension bridges vs. arch bridges and more. What a fun learning experience for students.

Science Shorts: Building Bridges

This is a nice article for teachers who want to introduce their students to the basic physics behind building a bridge. The hands- on activities suggested will help students understand the ... See More

This is a nice article for teachers who want to introduce their students to the basic physics behind building a bridge. The hands- on activities suggested will help students understand the forces that act upon structures and give them a better understanding of what engineers think about when the design and build bridges. Although Bridging the Gap is geared for students in grades 4 – 6, it gives teachers in grades K – 3 ideas on how they can adapt it to fit their students. The SciLinks are somewhat helpful; I had difficulty getting access to several of the links.