Bridges
Introductory video showing the need for bridges, in this case a village in India has fashioned living bridges out of tree roots and vines.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/build-bridge-p2.html
Presents 4 different water spans requiring bridges and asks students to study the four bridge types to decide which is best suited to each water span. Information provided as explanation of each type of bridge. Then onto the activity. Even explains why if it isn’t the best choice. Excellent fun. Based on real bridges. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/5/01.05.04.x.html#top An excellent unit with explanations, experiments and a challenge. No pictures or diagrams, examples or beautiful presentation, just text to explain and direct. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/bridge/challenge/indexp.html?2 The Bridge Challenge. At Craggy Rock community 4 new bridges are needed. Decide which one will go where. Then adapt to solve the problem presented. Excellent visuals and explanations. Interactive. http://www.swe.org/iac/LP/bridge_01b.html A unit of work by Society of Women Engineers with aims and objectives. Suggests an activity using string and straws to see what design of bridge will hold the most weight. Also has a page of bridges, naming them and what style of bridge they are. http://www.bridgeclimb.com/The-Bridge/Bridge-Facts/ Facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge in question and answer format. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/constructingaustralia/thebridge/spanning.htm Watch as the different design proposals for the Sydney Harbour Bridge are visually represented. http://www.wow4water.net/images/bridge%20building%20lesson%20plan.pdf Bridge building challenge from Wow Wild over Waterways Bridge the gap K*Nex challenge Using K*Nex to build the different types of bridges Bridges and tunnels SCOPE program from CSIRO and Channel Ten. Watch as a beam bridge is constructed simply and compared to a cable-stayed bridge. Also explanation of how the inside of bridges is monitored to identify faults Build a spaghetti bridge from CSIRO website |
http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=bridges
How Stuff Works page on the search term ‘bridges’ with videos and pics as well as information. http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/card_bridge.html File card bridge demonstrating beam bridge and arch bridge. Very simple with a simple explanation to accompany it. http://www.exploratorium.edu/structures/index.html From the Exploratorium a great activity with straws and pins to see how far a structure can be built away from a wall to demonstrate the concept of tension and compression. Activities too for building bridges with paper, clay and newspaper. http://www.salvadori.org/curriculum/aobc/combined_rope.pdf Investigating forces push and pull as a way of understanding tension amd compression, both important concepts for bridge building. Many more pdfs for lesson activities at the site below: http://www.salvadori.org/kidbridges-art-bridge-construction http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science/understanding-bridges-videos-playlist.htm#video-29829 10 videos explaining various aspects of bridges from How Stuff Works http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/bridge-collapse.html10 bridge collapses in the States and Korea shown and explained. http://www.learn4good.com/games/simulation/build_bridge_across_canyon2.htm Play this bridge builder game to learn about bridge building by doing. Bridge weblinks prepared by Jackie Miers; many dead links but excellent on examples of bridges
A powerpoint outlining the design process for a bridge building task
A maths activity based on bridges focussed on measurement strand Various short videos demonstrating and discussing various aspects of bridges from Teachers' Domain Canada |