PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

Project-Based Learning:Bridge Building and

Design

• HANDS-ON DISCOVERY LEARNING• APPLICATION OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS• DEVELOPS AN INTEREST IN SCIENCE• PRODUCES A LEARNING ARTIFACT

Project-Based Learning (PBL)

What is PBL? What does it look like?

See it in action below….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9J0NfUe8PIo&safe=active

• SO MANY TYPES OF BRIDGESSO MANY TYPES OF BRIDGES• HOW DO BRIDGES WORK ?HOW DO BRIDGES WORK ?• DESIGNING YOUR OWN BRIDGEDESIGNING YOUR OWN BRIDGE• CONSTRUCTING YOUR OWN CONSTRUCTING YOUR OWN BRIDGEBRIDGE

PBL Bridge Building PBL Bridge Building ProjectProject

What are you going to be doing?

*Math is the leading subject of this PBL project

*In Math classes, you will spend at least nine class periods designing and building your own

bridges in groups

*In Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts – you will be doing background research,

learning about factors that influence bridge strength and stability, and the history of

bridges in our country and world.

What are you going to be doing?

*In May, you and your groups will be presenting your bridges to an audience of

other classmates, teachers, community members, and engineers.

*This will be a project that you will be working on at school, in your classes, at various times

from today through the end of April.

Day 1 – Introduction

• Research the history - Close Read of “History of Bridge Development”

• Analyze different and basic bridge types• Explore how bridges work

• Watch videos on bridge design and

failures• Play online bridge building games

Bridge Types

PBS.ORG PBS.ORG

PBS.ORGPBS.ORG

ROMAN AQUEDUCT

Arch Bridge

PBS.ORG

PBS.ORG

Beam Bridge

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

Suspension Bridge

PBS.ORG

PBS.ORG

PBS.ORG

Cantilever Truss Bridge

Firth of Forth Bridge

Video Playlist – 10 segments

“How stuff works” – Bridges

http://science.howstuffworks.com/understanding-bridges-videos-playlist.htm

(Ten video segments each 2-4 minutes long on various parts of bridges, how they

work, collapses, etc.)

Video “Smart Bridges”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/smart-bridges.html

(9:52)

Interactive – “Why Bridges Failed”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/bridge-collapse.html

Bridge Building Games

Do these on the screen together – how well can you build your bridge? Why does it fail?

Cargo Bridge http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-cargo-

bridge/Build the Bridge

http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-build-the-bridge/

PHOTOS BY: DOUG PORTER

Types of BridgesCan you determine the bridge type?

PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

Bebb’s Park BridgeButler County, Ohio

It’s hard to tell what type this bridge is from this anglebut click again to see the structure from inside.

PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

Bebb’s Bridge Structure

So what type is this?

If you guessed It’s a truss bridge You’re right.

PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

Lost Bridge, ElizabethTown, Ohio

What type do you think this is?

If you guessed Beam Bridge you were right.

PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

John A. Roebling

BridgeCincinnati, Ohio

Long cables suspended between pillars tell you it is a……

Suspension Bridge

PHOTO BY: DOUG PORTER

Historic George Street Bridge

Aurora, Indiana

It’s a truss bridge.Also known as a Whipple truss.