🏅

Certified Bridge Engineer!

You built all five bridges and learned the science behind every one: beam, truss, cantilever, drawbridge and arch.

Show your teacher this screen!

Your base is your bridge tray. Every bridge needs a base: a piece of cardboard or thick paper, at least 6 by 17 inches. Keep your finished parts on it. It stays in the classroom, so pick it up each time you come to build. At the end, tape your finished bridge onto it.
How the path works: 🔨 Build stops show you how to build a bridge step by step. 🔬 Learn stops have a video, two activities and a quiz. Pass the quiz to unlock the next bridge!

The Bridge Path

🎟️ Have a Bridge Pass code?

Every time you pass a quiz, you get a Bridge Pass code. If you switch computers, type your newest code here to unlock the path up to that point.

Teacher note

The Bridge Path

Ten stops in a fixed order: build a bridge, then learn the science behind it, then build the next one. Each stop unlocks when the one before it is finished. Build stops count as finished when students watch every step through the last one. Learn stops count as finished when students pass the quiz (5 of 6). Progress is saved on each computer.

StopsBridgeBuild pageScience pageIndex cardsOther suppliesBridge Pass code
1 and 2Beambeambridge.htmlbeamscience.html25Tape, scissors, ruler, pencilPLANK-48
3 and 4Trusstrussbridge.htmltrussscience.html28Tape (lots), rulerBRACE-73
5 and 6Cantilevercantileverbridge.htmlcantileverscience.html106 to 8 pennies, tapeSEESAW-25
7 and 8Drawbridgedrawbridge.htmldrawbridgescience.html12String (18 in), 5 to 8 pennies, tape, scissorsHINGE-61
9 and 10Archarchbridge.htmlarchscience.html38Tape, scissors, ruler, pencilKEYSTONE-90

Every bridge also needs

  • A base: cardboard or thick paper (about 100 lb cardstock), at least 6 by 17 inches. An 11 by 17 sheet works for all five. It stays in the classroom between visits.
  • A stapler or small book for the strength test.
  • Optional black road step: black construction paper (12 by 18), a white colored pencil or crayon, scissors, and a glue stick.

Notes

  • The beam and arch bridges are adapted from the National Building Museum's Bridge Basics card bridges, redone for 3 by 5 inch index cards. The truss, cantilever and drawbridge versions were designed as easier builds for 8 to 10 year olds (no string knots, hole punching or brass fasteners).
  • Bridge Pass codes let a student who switches computers skip back to where they were. Each science page's teacher note has its answer key.

Inspired by the National Building Museum's Bridge Basics card bridges.