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Week 2: Bridge Building (10/20/09) |
This week we did a lesson about civil/structural engineering with the bridge building activity. Since it had been a week since we were in the classroom, we started off by reviewing the EDP and what we learned last week. Next, we explained what civil engineers do and talked about the more specific case of building a bridge. After talking about the factors that an engineer needs to consider when constructing a bridge, we introduced the activity. Our activity was to build a 1 ft bridge that either could hold the most weight or could hold a nalgene water bottle, but cost the cheapest. We gave all of the materials (popsicle sticks, glue, pipe cleaners, straws, etc.) a price and gave them a maximum "budget" of 1,000,000. This proved to be more difficult than we anticipated, as some students hadn't learned place value yet, and were intimidated by the "big" numbers. Once the materials were purchased, the students set off building their bridges. A few used the triangle shape that we had explained was the sturdiest, but many had trouble grasping the fact that to conserve time and supplies, the bridge only had to be 2-D. Not everyone finished their bridge, but Ms. Hembrough said she would give them more time the next day so that they will be ready to test next week!
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