Looking back we at the design process of this unit, we are all in the same situation with a class of students in an technical design class learning about technical challenges, coming up with researched information and new innovative ideas and how to communicate graphically your ideas. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. It really emphasises the importance of self-reinforcing shapes and shows example and visuals to enhance comprehension and retention. 3-4 Expanding/Bridging, VegetablesSingular/Plural NounsRead AloudStone SoupGr 1-3 Expanding/Bridging, 10 Visible Thinking Routine Graphic Organizers, Artist Cards: Modern Art Movement (Art Posters), Teach Art with Mrs. Nguyen's Elementary Art Bundle (Art Posters & Activites). [See the Preview Video]There is nothing better to solidify the students understanding of Physics than to have them build a bridge. You will be using the printout to create your bridge components. Different types of bridges carry loads differently. Add highlights, virtual manipulatives, and more. var part3 = "e-mail Mr. Franzen - right click, select Copy e-mail address"; That puts its efficiency over 4200! The rest of the material cost practically nothing and, Physics students will learn how to build a real electric motor that works. This bridge won the 2004 GA State Science Olympiad Bridge Building competition. The bridge must be kept under a weight of 150 grams and adhere to full scale drawing template. Views you will be able to draw are the front, top, side, bottom-road bed, and bottom sub-structure. Yes, this is one of the coolest bridges I have ever seen. Efficiency of the bridge is the most important goal of your design. Some filters moved to Formats filters, which is at the top of the page. Civil Engineers - skills, knowledge, education, Building the the Most Efficient Wooden Truss Bridge, Both super-structure, road bed and sub-structure may be used, Triangles are much stronger than four sided figures, Bridge span must have ten mm gap from support system, Template shows maximum length, width, and height, Bridge width must be full width to fit test block, Ten mm maximum above road bed surface (top of bridge support system), Review peer Power Point presentations for more ideas, Open Illustrator and select New File with the following settings, Advanced and pick 72 dpi for raster effects, Edit > Preferences > Guide and Grids, set grid to 5 mm, Press Shift F8 (for object information box), Select Rectangle tool (m) and left click on art board, put in 200mm for width and 5 mm for height, Select the selection tool (v) and select beam on art board, then ctrl C to copy, then ctrl F to paste on top, then click and drag beam down so there are two parallel to each other, Select Rectangle tool (m) and left click on art board, put in 5mm for width and 50 mm for height to make a support member, Use Selection tool (v) to move the support member in between both beams in the center, select and move bottom beam so that it touches bottom of support member, Use Selection tool (v) and select the middle support member and ctrl C to copy, ctrl F to paste on top, In the object information box, select 45 degrees in the rotate box, then select middle anchor top and pull to top beam, do the same for the bottom, Zoom in rolling the middle mouse button and pressing the alt button at the same time to view the top intersection of 45 degree support member and top beam, Click and hold the pen tool fly out, select add anchor, then add an anchor point where the beam intersects the support member, Click and hold the pen tool fly out, select subtract anchor, then delete anchor point(s) above beam line, Do the same for the bottom of the support beam, then move 45 degree support member to the left, select both the straight original support beam and the 45 degree beam, ctrl C, ctrl V, then move copy beside on the right, Using the selection tool (v) right click on a 45 degree beam, select Transform > Reflect, In the Reflect window, select vertical, select preview, then copy, Finish by adjusting the length of the top and bottom beams, using the selection tool (V), click and drag middle anchor of beams, Alt roll centre mouse button to live zoom, Space bar and left click to pan your work, You can only undo your last mistake once ctrl z, Use the direct selection icon tool to move individual points of a shape, Use View > Outline to view just the line, view > preview to view regular view, When moving a shape, after starting to move, press shift, and it will lock on the x or y axis as you move the shape, Most importantly,right click on several components, use Transform >Reflect whenever possible to copy symmetrical bridge components. X Highlighted balsa wood bridge videos from youtube.com. Use the push-pins to keep parts in place. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Finalizing and selecting your end design is very important. See Rules below for more details. Also included in:Physics and Engineering Project Bundle, Also included in:Teach Art with Mrs. Nguyen's Elementary Art Bundle (Art Posters & Activites). Each square in this lined paper is 1/8 inch, which is equal to the thickness of the materials that we are using. On the side-view drawing, write in all the measurements for easier cutting. Some important points to keep in mind: When a load is placed in the middle of a beam, it tries to compress on the top creating what is called compression and the bottom tries to pull apart which is known as tension. Quizzes with auto-grading, and real-time student data. Definitions of basic Bridge Construction Terms. For more tips, including how to draw a good blueprint for your balsa wood bridge, keep reading! For more information on the program click on one of the following links: Remember to keep your points short and to-the-point, use large print and include graphics. Its fine if it takes up the entire sheet of graph paper. This thirty-two page unit contains eighteen reproducible worksheets for classroom use, six pages of flash cards/word cards which focus on ELD vocabulary, language, speaking, reading, listening development, phonemic awareness, phonics, role-playing a story, and retelling key story. This twenty-seven page magazine is completely reproducible, is intended for classroom or home use, and contains articles, word puzzles, and activities, Vegetable Vocabulary, Singular & Plural Nouns, & A Read Aloud, Stone Soup, Grades 1-3 Expanding/Bridging," can be used in a variety of ways to complement your existing ELD, ELL, ESL, and/or EFL curriculum. Each card has the artists name, portrait, years lived, associated art movement(s), and a sample of their artwork in the background.These cards can be used in a number of different ways.1. Teachers Pay Teachers is an online marketplace where teachers buy and sell original educational materials. When the bridge does break under load, the final load weight that it was able to withstand will be indicated in the LCD readout. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Looking at the different drawings, students will have the opportunity of selecting the parts they need to construct their own bridges, or they will gather many good ideas about how to design something completely new. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. **Answer Key will be emailed separately to purchaser, This activity in pdf format is one of the best products we have created. Beanstalks to Castles! If you have the time, its best to leave this side to dry for an additional day or two. Balsa wood is more flexible than some people expect. Make sure after the students build their bridges they are tested with different amounts of weight to see how much they can hold. This will save you a lot of time if you can do this when possible. They will know what to do in every step of their work. Each of the materials, tools, and equipment need to be taken care of. % of people told us that this article helped them. This paper is then used as a template to follow by placing on a sheet of foam-core and taping a layer of waxed paper on top. All Rights Reserved. Once you have established the best general bridge design, the next critical decision will be what kind of joints and how your pieces will be put together. Then, use your final drawing to trace the different pieces you'll need onto the balsa wood. The 3D Balsa Bridge Design Project Interactive Guided Notebook is on sale for 9.99! This is also included in the Bridge Design Interactive notebook that can be purchased on TPT through this store. document.write(''); The higher the bridge efficiency the higher your mark will be, as your mark will be based on the average of all group bridge efficiencies tested. It spanned 14 inches, weighed 8.1 grams, and held 29 pounds. 2: Illustrating Your Final Bridge Design, Introduction to MS Power Point 2003 Video, MindBites Illustrator Introduction Videos. You can organize the cards by movement and pos, Structures + Bridges Building Balsa wood bridges, Structures and Bridges, Balsa wood bridges, worksheets, STEM 32 pages, Balsa Wood Bridges - Collection of 786 Pictures, 3D Balsa Bridge Design Project Interactive Guided Notebook, Bridge Efficiency Tracking for a full class (Interactive), Exploring Forces and Shapes - Structural Design Research Activity, Electric Motors: Toothpick Motor Assembly Tutorial, Electric Motors: Paperclip Motor Assembly Tutorial in PDF Format, Beanstalks to Castles! One commenter said, So if this bridge weighed one pound, it could have held up my car., Hello everybody my name is First Timer and I had to make a balsa wood bridge with theses specs: 40.5 cm long, 11-12 cm wide 13-25 cm high, must have a span of 26 cm, peek of the span must be at least 9 cm, and this bridge could weigh no more than 16 grams. This twist on the traditional Balsa Wood Suspension Bridge, is a long-term project for either an individual or a team to complete. In 2001, they won the State finals in this event. If you have never used Power Point, but have used Microsoft Word, then you are half way there, as they are similar. While your bridge is still supported by pins around its sides, glue on your lateral braces. This is a 11 * 17, two page art board template giving you a 5 orthographic views, each outlining the maximum sizes you can draw. Rules below were written up based on using 1/8" * 1/8" strips and is in imperial measurements, so a little adjustment to the sizes will be tolerated. This free resource will allow you to track the efficiency of balsa bridges while combining weight and cost. The presentation should be between 5 - 7 minutes, not including questions and discussion after the presentation. He recommends using trusses in our bridge as triangles are very strong (for bridges and in general). By putting a diagonal brace in the middle, corner to corner, you get two triangles, which are the strongest possible shape. First tape your drawing to the corrugated cardboard, then place your wax paper over top of your bridge drawing and tape it down also. Ensure you have had instruction on all resources prior to using them: Images below show some of the resources we will be using. Your task, in your groups, is to decide on which of the two final ideas is going to be the most efficient bridge design to build, then build your bridge with the following limited amount of time, weight and materials supplied: Once bridge is built, it will be destructively tested using a Pitsco Pneumatic Structure Tester (as show above). 32 pagesPlease see the PreviewStatics + DynamicTension + CompressionShear + TorqueEquilibriumStrength in ShapeBeam BridgesCantileverArch SuspensionCable StayedWorksheets includeCrosswordMultiple ChoiceMix and MatchWord SearchReview sheetFill in the blankSecret codeScrambled wordScrambled sentence. The first unit will focus on ideas, research and presentation. There are many bridges that are quite strong and have attractive designs. Below are a number of related online links you could use to start your research: Once your group has their topic and understands the direction and purpose of your topic, break it down into 4 to 6 related sub-topics. HOME Last Updated: August 4, 2021 Students then cut each piece, glue on top of their design (the waxed paper keeps the sticks from sticking to the design page), an. does the idea you used solve the problem. Cross them over the wood to secure it. In groups of two you are to research, present, and then independently design 4 different truss style bridge designs with a goal of maximizing the efficiency of the bridge. This balsa tower was 12 inches tall, 8 inches wide at the base, and tapered to a 2 inch square at the top. The more work you put in this step will pay off in dividends with your final product. If you want to, you can dilute it slightly with water. A few other bridges used too much or too little balsa wood, have poor designs, or do not look look. This bundle contains 6 PDF files containing 200 modern artist information cards (including a few bonus contemporary artists). Cut a piece of sheer parchment paper larger than the foam board. I got this idea from talking with a Science Olympiad coach in Ohio. Use the push-pins as shown below. I only have about forty pounds of. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 53,112 times. Tuck its edges around the back of the board and tape them. Select one area with your group to create a 8 to10 page Power Point presentation to show related information to truss bridge design and building: Power point presentations must include a title page and reference page showing all major sources and include 50% graphics/illustrations. This simple video footage of the competition makes for a good learning opportunity. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Next, cut the pieces from the wood with a saw and arrange them on top of your drawing so you know where they all fit on the bridge. Put a thin line of glue on each edge of the roadway. The glue will dry in about half an hour. You are to show 4 orthographic views top, bottom, front, and right side of bridge design. Physics students will learn how to build a real electric motor that works. var part1 = "Michael.Franzen"; This unit will take you through the SPICE design process in a little more detail. I use this as an intro activity before students design balsa wood towers or bridges. Oils and grease from your skin can ruin your glue joints. Truss bridges are type of beam bridge supported by crossing posts above the bridge, and arch bridges are supported by large arches below the roadway of the bridge. Here are some support links explaining more about Illustrator: Both you and your partner are to select your final bridge designs and draw them accurately in Illustrator using supplied template found in the school pick-up folder. Keep your hands clean. Each of your full length pieces (610 mm) of wood are about 9 grams each, so you can calculate approximately how heavy your bridge is and how much weight you hope to hold. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This will make it easier to grab and use them. Bates Tech Balsa Wood Bridge Competition 2011, Classic K-Truss Bridge Design (Balsa Wood), Fernbank Project: Strongest Bridge Design. References. The second unit, you will learn how to illustrate your bridge design on the computer, and the last unit will focus on the building of your Bridge design. Push your sides against the roadway. Give yourself room to change your design slightly as you build. Take a handful of sewing pins and line them along the edge of your foam board. This bridge was part of my design process which ended up with my SO winning bridge in 2004. It also provides cl, These worksheets follow STEMtopics lesson Structures + Bridges. You can see that where the slanted. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Before you can do this you will need to practice making a simple truss using Illustrator to get familiar with it's drawing tools and process. Are you getting the free resources, updates, and special offers we send out every week in our teacher newsletter? The bridge ended up with an efficiency score of 514. I built this bridge for the 2005 Fernbank Science Center bridge design event. For planning, you will need large-sized 1/8-inch graph paper, a pencil and eraser, and a ruler. Power Point is a program that allows you to show your ideas through slide show screens. A very nice looking Balsa wood bridge sent in from one of my readers. pertinent information to sketch 4 working truss bridge designs. If you are unsure of a rule, ask! // --> These are NGSS-aligned lessons. At this stage of the unit, we are to safely build our final idea and then test it's strength. Draw both the sides of your bridge with the trusses included to scale and the overhead view of your bridge. Some last minute tips while working in Illustrator: Below are samples of a finished bridge roughed in using the template and the above tips. Braced joints can be very difficult to make but, can provide an extremely strong joint. The efficiency score was 1584. The bridge truss designs above show three variations based on the King Post type. After listening to all groups presentations, sketch out 5 different working truss bridge designs using supplied template graph sheet. You will find included in your template the following angled support beams both at 75 mm and 65 mm width's; 67.5, 60, 45, 30, 22.5 degree angles. The parchment paper keeps glue off of your drawing and allows you to use it to create both sides of your bridge. Each group will present based on a random draw. Learn about forces and how they effect shapes in this fun, student paced WebQuest Activity! The materials cost about $30, and they are good for 40 students to build their own motors. Use pieces of masking tape to tack down the drawing of the side of your bridge. The first three groups that volunteer to go first will get a bonus 3,2,& 1. Their imagination is the limit.Another great product in TpT is the Balsa Wood Bridge Tu, Using one Google Slideshow, you can track all of your student work. Try to utilize various joint types that are stronger then others for maximum support. This article has been viewed 53,112 times. You might have to do this while you are looking up your information. An ESL, ELL, ELD, EFL Magazine-Gr. Look for a medium- to high-density balsa. The document also allows room for photos of the bridge. After youve completely laid out one side, remove the pins one joint at a time, and glue the strips of wood together with wood glue. Through this program the students will learn about different foundations, the types of forces that effect bridges and how they withstand these forces.The lesson reviews the following terms about bridges and structures:Forces: Static + Dynamic, Tension + Compression, Shear + Torque, Equilibrium, Strength in shapeBridge Types: Beam, Cantilever, Truss, Arch, Suspens, This comprehensive and carefully designed Balsa Wood Bridge Tutorial guides students how to build a bridge step by step, from beginning to end, starting with the designing process. One single weak joint can cause a chain reaction in your whole bridge collapsing, even if all your other joints are super strong. There are even professional competitions for balsa wood bridges that can bear the highest loads. var part2 = "tdsb.on.ca?subject=E-mail to Mr. Franzen"; An ESL, ELL, ELD, EFL Magazine-Gr. The first illustration shows one beam, but the second one shows three member supports, therefor spreading the load even more. For, Chamblee has always done well in Bridge Building. Knowledge about bridge design, types of trusses, history of bridges, how to get the best efficiency, wooden build techniques, and wood joints are all important when finalizing your bridge design. There are several sets of pictures in pdf format, and they include a wide variety of designs. Have a contest, work in groups. Note the glue gun is strictly just for gluing large bridge components such as the bridge sides to the road bed. To assemble your balsa bridge, youll need sewing pins, a large piece of foam board, a wood cutter. With these dimensions, overestimate how much wood youll need; its best to have some extra. the beam does not take all the compression and tension. Racking is a stress that naturally distorts a square or rectangle into a parallelogram from weight above. Youll need balsa wood for your structure. You can create an artist "Word Wall."3. Just before this point, you should take a damp rag, and wipe off any excess glue. Great for use in balsa wood / popsicle stick bridge building units. Always double check that you have completed all components for full marks. We are doing this in my engineering class. This is a quick assignment that shows students the difference a joint type can make in a balsa wood bridge. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. This value will be used to calculate the efficiency of your bridge. By using our site, you agree to our. You may need to convert some measurements, so knowing that 1" equal to 25.4 mm, will allow you to calculate the conversion. If you need to, you can use clothespins as tiny clamps. By drawing your designs in full scale orthographic views, will allow you to use those views as your printed blueprint drawing for making your bridge components. This unique product is a collection of 786 high quality pictures of more than 100 balsa wood bridges. Students follow along with the worksheet and experiment with simulators on the Internet to learn vocabulary and record observations. This one document can be shared with your entire class. It weighed 9.47 grams, spanned 35cm, and held 15kg without breaking. Before you buy the wood sheets, estimate how large your bridge will be. As you cut your pieces pin them into place on the corrugated cardboard. Select your best design(s) and accurately draw out your design using a supplied template in Illustrator. Use the wood glue sparingly. Cut your largest outside pieces first, then place the pieces on the appropriate location. With lots of ideas and information, then deciding on the best idea to use, and then test the final idea i.e. Use your woodcutter in conjunction with a straight edge. Included is a timeline, weekly grading rubric, CAD Unit, Interactive Engineering Design Process guide, Safety Guidelines, Balsa Wood Bridge DesignChallenge, Daily Progress Slide section with instructions, Interactive Bridge Efficiency Tracking for a full class, and an extension activity section for 3D designs that can be created for stud, During the design phase of our Balsa Bridge unit, I use this page to help students to create a full-scale version of their designs. Make sure to account for all the pieces youll need: truss pieces, lateral bracing, and the roadway. is the first issue of English Rocks! This bridge, This is an older bridge I came across when browsing through my old Science Olympiad photos. To strengthen even more, instead of straight member supports, using triangles such as in illustration 3, the bridge is even stronger.