Crandi

Build A Bridge Discovere

Leo Migdal
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build a bridge discovere

People have been building and using bridges throughout history in order to cross obstacles such as bodies of water, valleys, or rough terrain. The earliest bridges were constructed using natural resources such as logs, dirt, and stone. But the Roman Empire made huge engineering advancements during the second century BCE. Roman engineers discovered mortar by grinding up volcanic rocks. Mortar enabled them to “glue” stones or bricks together, creating larger and stronger structures. The Pons Fabricius bridge in Rome is an example of an arch bridge.

It was built in 62 BCE and is still standing today! Select a material—either a single sheet of paper or aluminum foil—and design a bridge that can support as much weight as possible. Use only one sheet (white paper or aluminum foil) per design. Designing and building bridges connects many different areas of science, engineering, and architecture. Engineers design bridges and buildings to be structurally solid and meet the needs of the people who will be using them. Engineers need to consider several factors when designing bridges, including how the bridge will withstand weight, gravity, wind, earthquakes, corrosion, and temperature.

If the bridge spans a body of water, they will also need to think about water flow, tides, and erosion around the footings—all of which can weaken the bridge and cause it to fail! Modern bridges come in many designs and solve a variety of problems. Some common bridge types include suspension, beam, tied arch, cantilever, floating, and truss. Each one addresses some problems but not others. Suspension bridges, for example, are lightweight, strong, and can span long distances, but they’re expensive, difficult to build, and might sway in high winds. In contrast, a beam bridge is easy to build and inexpensive.

But longer bridges require many vertical supports, which could make it difficult for people or vehicles to pass underneath. In this activity we will: 1. Experiment with materials to figure out how materials can be used to achieve a design. 2. Plan, test and improve on how well a structure works as a bridge. This week is National Engineers Week, a time to celebrate, highlight, and honor some of our favorite people!

The American Society of Civil Engineers and DiscoverE have several fun projects on their website for kids (or those feeling nostalgic). All engineers have to start somewhere! Where are the bridge engineers? https://lnkd.in/g88QrQaq American Society of Civil Engineers, DiscoverE #EWeek2025 Students discover what it’s like to work in teams to build a bridge within strict constraints on materials, time, and money. Thanks to Steve Delach in Oregon for providing this activity idea.

DiscoverE works to provide every student with a STEM experience and the resources, programs, and connections to improve the understanding of engineering through a united voice and a global distribution network. The development of this site was made possible by a grant from the United Engineering Foundation (UEF). All of the content on this site is free! Registering for the site helps us tailor future activities, webinars, and events so that we can serve you better. Thank you for your interest and for helping us in our mission to transform lives as we put the E in STEM!

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