7th Grade Industrial Technology

Explore Bridges of the World

Design and Build Your Own Bridge Class Activity

Bridge BuildingObjectives: Students will build a bridge that can hold as much

weight as possible. They will be introduced to several real bridges and to the art of bridge building.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES• Complete the Bridge Activity sheet, beginning with the

next slide.• View the power point presentation, including the video

listed in the presentation.• Build an actual Balsa Bridge, which will be weight tested

once everyone is finished. Balsa Bridge building specs and instructions packet is provided once this introduction to Great Bridges power point is complete.

Activity #1

Go to the following Internet Website –http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge and click on

“Build a Bridge”.Click on each bridge type and read the information. Onthe Bridge Activity Worksheet, sketch each bridgeand take notes on the strengths and weaknesses for

each type of bridge.

Bridge Activity SheetBridge Type Sketch Strengths/Weaknesses

Arch

Beam

Suspension

Cable-Stayed

• Truss

• Roadbed

• Abutment

• Beam Bridge

• Arch Bridge

• Suspension Bridge

• Cable-Stayed

Activity #2

Bridges, the structure and composition of highway bridges are explored in the video on the following

webpage.

http://knowitall.scetv.org/careeraisle/clusters/video.cfm?programID=325&careerID=2

Different Bridge Designs from around the World

A color photograph of a bridge crossing a body of water in Istanbul, Turkey. The photographeris looking from one side of the city toward the other side on the other side of the bridge. Large  boats line the opposite shoreline. Many mosques with minarets can be seen in the distance.

Sydney Harbour bridge in Sydney Australia. What kind of bridge design is this?

Tourist crossing the suspension bridge into the bazaar at Birethanti. The bazaar is a center of trade and commerce in the Annapurna region of

Nepal.

The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere at close to 5 miles from end to end. Stay in the UP and visit St. Ignace, neighboring Sault Ste. Marie or

cross the bridge to Mackinac City. At both ends of the bridge ferrys run daily to Mackinc Island. Travel time is about 1 hr 10 minutes from Gulliver Lake.

This is a footbridge across the Eno River in Eno River State Park in Durham, North Carolina.

A suspension foot bridge lies across Kaali Gandaki River in Nepal. A pack of goats are being  goaded to cross the bridge. This kind of bridge is an

integral part of mountain transportation as  much of the traveling and the movement of goods is accomplished on foot

This is the Greene Street Bridge in Greenville, North Carolina. Due to structural issues and cracks in the supports, the bridge, which was

formerly a main traffic bridge, was moved and  converted to a pedestrian bridge in the town commons.

A herd of goats crosses a bridge over Kaali Gandaki River, Nepal. The shepherd has jus t dragged one of the goats across. After the

first goat has crossed the bridge the nervous her will follow.

Large boulders are part of a seawall built to protect the the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge from southward migration of Oregon Inlet.

Another view of the Herbert C. Bonner bridge, Oregon Inlet.

Motorcycle and bicycle traffic cross a modern metal bridge at Hué, in southeast Asia. A man pedals an empty bicycle rickshaw or cyclo on the left as a woman and child bicycle on the right. In between women and

men move faster on motorcycles  

There is an old bridge that once spanned across a river that still flows beneath it. The bridge is no longer complete; a part of the middle is missing. The stone the

bridge is made out of is black stone, and looks very rough. There are pieces of it in

the brown, flowing river

This is a wooden footbridge over a train track in Waxhaw, North Carolina. The town is famous for the bridge and its somewhat unusual-looking

water tower.  

The Ponte di Rialto, or Rialto Bridge, is one of the largest bridges spanning the Canal Grande o, Venice. It was built in three years in 1588 and was

the only way to cross the Canal Grande until on foot until the Accademia Bridge was constructed in 1854. More than a passageway, the  Ponte di

Rialto offers three separate walkways: two walkways flank the outer balustrades and a central walkway is always crowded with tourists visiting

the rows of shops on either side 

Bird’s-eye view of a bridge spanning a deep gorge. A wide river rushes through the gorge. On the far side of the bridge sits a low house. The San Francisco bridge is a recently-constructed wooden suspension bridge that spans  the Rio Pastaza Gorge outside of Banos. Banos is a small town of

12,000 set high in the mountains of Ecuador (5,971 feet). Banos is vibrant weekly market and a beautiful cathedral. a popular destination for tourists exploring the mountainous terrain, but it also contains a vibrant

weekly market and a beautiful cathedral.  

This is the skyline of Bombay, India. It was taken over a concrete barrier, and looks out over a  bridge. Three people walk under the bridge.

Between the bridge and the skyline, there is a  lake.

Golden Gate, San Francisco, CA.

Tower Bridge, London, England. When it opened, the Tower Bridge was raised over 1,000 times to allow ships to pass. Today, It opens less than 100 times per year.

Firth of Forth Bridge, South and North Queensferry, Scotland. It was the world’s first all-steel long-span bridge and the world’s longest bridge at the time. This is an example of a

Cantilever type bridge.

Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge, Omaha, Ne. Claimed to be one of the longest pedestrian bridges ever built.

Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge

Covered bridge in Madison County in Iowa.

Activity #3

Now that you are finished with this virtual field trip on the introduction to great bridges and

bridge design, the next activity is to build an actual Balsa Bridge. Please turn in your Bridge Activity sheet, and

pick up the Balsa Bridge building specs and instructions packet from your instructor.

Bridge will be weight tested once everyone is finished.

Have you ever considered becoming a civil engineer? A bridge designer? Or the person actually building the bridge?