Abstract

Thisprojectfocusesonhowbridgesareengineeredtowithstandweight,while
beingdurable,andinsomecasesaestheticallypleasing.Studentsworkinteamsto
design and build their own bridge out of up to 300 popsicle sticks and glue.
Bridgesmusthaveaspanofatleast1.5feet(45.72cm)andbeabletoholdtoa
certainpoundweight.Studentsareencouragedtobefrugal,andusethefewest
numberofpopsiclestickswhilestillachievingtheirgoals.Studentthenevaluate
the effectiveness of their own bridge designs and present their findings. The
"PopsicleBridge"lessonexploreshowengineeringhasimpactedthedevelopment
ofbridgesovertime,includinginnovativedesignsandthechallengeofcreating
bridgesthatbecomelandmarksforacity.Studentsworkinteamsof"engineers"to
designandbuildtheirownbridgeoutofglueandpopsiclesticks.Theytesttheir
bridgesusingweights,booksoranytypesofloadstoevaluatetheirresults,and
present their findings. Moreover, the proposed section is symmetrical about a
horizontalplanesothatitiswellsuitedforthealternatingpositiveandnegative
bendingmomentsthatthebridgeexperiences.