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Span-tastic Bridges Activity

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Participants use commercially available building sets to “go long” or “reach high” with their own designs for model bridges.

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  • Participants Enjoyed the Activity 
    Participants Learned from This Activity 
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Related Programming Resources

Hints for uses in your library Encourage participants to give each other ideas or extra pieces – or even to combine their designs into one bridge!
Related Links Instructional Video for Engineering Family Guide: Make Your Own Zipline
Skokie Public Library STEAM Kits: Bridge Building
“What Makes Bridges So Strong?,” SciShow Kids
Build a Straw Bridge
KEVA planks: STEM Any Time, Any Place
Marshmallow Challenge
Lego Structures
"Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, “Galloping Gertie”
Simple Solutions Solve Big Problems — Building a Footbridge. Short Interview with Maria Gibbs
Simple Solutions Solve Big Problems - Building a Footbridge. Long interview with Maria Gibbs
Overnight Bridge Replacement
Originating Source National Center for Interactive Learning
Related Books
[Suggest a book]
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Brooklyn Bridge!
Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing by April Jones Prince
The World's Most Amazing Bridges by Michael Hurley
Bridges! Amazing Structures to Design, Build, and Test
Fabulous Bridges by Ian Graham
A Book of Bridges: Here to There and Me to You by Cheryl Keely
Pop's Bridge by Eve Bunting
Mackinac Bridge: The Story of the Five-Mile Poem by Gloria Whelan
Bridges: An Introduction to Ten Great Bridges and Their Designers by Didier Cornille
The Science of a Bridge Collapse by Nikole Brooks Bethea
Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers
Engineered!: Engineering Design at Work
Engineer Academy, by Steve Martin and Nastia Sleptsova

Reviews

 
Rating 
Participants Enjoyed the Activity 
Participants Learned from This Activity 
Activity Instructions Were Clear and Easy to Follow 
Would Recommend 
04/15/2019

Great for a Library Program!

I was really excited to receive the Keva Planks from the clearinghouse sweepstakes contest. The kids were really excited about this activity! I had them construct the bridges using the Keva planks but, also supplemented with Legos to increase creativity. The goal was to have the kids construct a bridge that would allow a baseball, tennis ball and golf ball to pass underneath. The kids really enjoyed the Keva planks because they are very lightweight and easy to stack. They can also be tricky because they are so lightweight they are easily knocked down. The kids didn’t get discouraged and just kept building. I really enjoyed the Keva planks and this activity it helped enforce the engineering design process.

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Span-tastic Bridges Activity

Span-tastic Bridges Activity

Participants use commercially available building sets to “go long” or “reach high” with their own designs for model bridges.