Project Description
Bridges & Buildings
Brace yourself- as your students work in teams to build the tallest and sturdiest structures known to man! Students will learn about forces while practising the quintessential 21st century skills paramount to excelling in STEM.
Level: Available for Level 3 to Level 6.
Duration: Available in a 90 minute format only.
Numbers: Each workshop can cater to a maximum of 30 children. However, smaller groups have better access to equipment and the facilitator.
State: VIC
Learning Outcomes
A stationary object has equal forces acting upon it.
A force can push or pull, affecting the strength of a building.
A compressive force compresses or shortens the object it is acting on, like cars and trucks on a bridge.
A tensile force expands or lengthens the object it is acting on, like cables supporting a long bridge.
Triangles and arches are strong because the force resulting from a heavy load placed at the top spreads down the sides to the foundation or base.
Students will learn to collaborate, communicate and work as a team effectively to solve a common problem.
Activities
Students observe incredible compression forces act upon a humble can of soda.
Volunteers participate in testing a series of beam bridges.
Students will discover the strength of squares, triangles and arches under squeezing/pushing forces.
In teams, students will collaborate and communicate to build the strongest bridge.
Students will work in groups to build the tallest and sturdiest tower that withstands external pushing forces.
Students will use their creativity and problem solving skills to complete a 5 minute balancing challenge.
Victorian Curriculum Links
Forces can be exerted by one object on another through direct contact or from a distance. (VCSSU064)
Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties; these properties can influence their use. (VCSSU060)
Scientific knowledge and understanding of the world changes as new evidence becomes available; science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas across the disciplines and practice of science. (VCSSU089)
Safely use appropriate materials, tools, equipment and technologies. (VCSIS067)
Use formal measurements in the collection and recording of observations. (VCSIS068)
Compare observations and predictions with those of others. (VCSIS054)
Communicate ideas and processes using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena and to identify simple cause-and-effect relationships. (VCSIS088)
