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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

The Physics of Bridges

For Students 9th - 12th
Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Build a High Dive

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Can't build a cantilever? You'll be able to after a hands-on, constructive activity. Young engineers build cantilevers out of straws and tape. The finished products must be able to hang off a table as far as possible.
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Bridge Building

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Suspension Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students view a video clip about suspension bridges. They discover what forces support this type of bridge. They build their own suspension bridge using classroom materials.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Toothpick Bridge Design

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders are introduced to what makes a strong, sound structure. They explore about the truss structure, the importance of the strength of the triangle and the distribution of forces along the truss. Students work in teams to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bridges

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders use model-building to help comprehend the forces and phenomena at work in the world around them. They describe gravity as a universal force that pulls everything toward the center of the earth. Students distinguish between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Straw Shapes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students view a video on bridges and domes. They discuss the importance of shapes, especially triangles for these structures. They participate in an activity in which they create their own dome out of paper clips.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bridges

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the different types, designs and nature of bridges. They observe a historical look at the bridges in and around the Pittsburgh area through a video presentation. Connections are made between science and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design and Construct a Road Sign Support

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use simple materials to design, build and test a model of a free standing structure used to support overhead road signs.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquake Shake Table

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students build an earthquake shake table. They design and build the table and test their completed structures using sandbags.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Towers

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study the different methods to build a shake table.  In this earthquake instructional activity students build their own shake table and experiment with their own structure design. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design and Construct A Road Sign Support

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use simple materials to design, build, and test a model of a free-standing structure used to support overhead road signs. Students view a video on the engineering design process and conduct research by observing actual overhead...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Construct with Solids

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discover which properties of solids lend themselves to building a tower through hands on trial and error and observation of others as they are building. They write down the steps it took them to build the tower and label an...
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Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Triangles: Designing a Straw Bridge

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast tries to design and build a bridge made out of drinking straws that will support the weight of 200 pennies. [4:02]