Bridges that hold

Ages 6 to 8 Read together, then try alone · about 30 minutes

Read together

A bridge must hold its own weight and the weight of things on it.

Engineers test designs before they build.

Do it

1. Place two books a hand apart. Lay a flat sheet of paper across. Put a coin on it and see it sag.
2. Fold the paper like a fan or add a tube under it. Test again with more coins.
3. Count how many coins each design holds.
4. Draw the best bridge and say why it works.

Talk about it

• Which design held the most?
• What made it stronger?

For the grown-up

Folding and shaping a material makes it stiffer without adding weight. Testing, changing and testing again is how engineers work.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• NGSS Lead States, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), performance expectation 3-5-ETS1-3 (planning and carrying out tests to improve a design)
• Petroski, H., To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (St. Martin's Press, 1985)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.