Elora Hardy: Magical houses, made of bamboo. Algodoo. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (1940) (Sound Version) Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse "Gallopin' Gertie" BUILDING BIG: Home Page. Explore large structures and what it takes to build them with BUILDING BIG™, a five-part PBS television series and Web site from WGBH Boston.
Here are the main features of the site: Bridges, Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams, and Tunnels. The Labs Try your hand at our interactive engineering labs. The Challenges Take on the challenges of building big. Wonders of the World Databank Explore our databank of big structures. Local Wonders Investigate big structures near you. Who Builds Big? About the Series Learn more about the shows, and see a chat with David Macaulay.
Educators' Guide How to use the Web site, with hands-on activities. Shop Building Big DVDs and books from David Macaulay available at ShopPBS.org. Site Tour Learn more about the features in this site. Site Map The whole site at a glance. Web Credits Feedback Help. Sticky Structures. DESIGN SQUAD . Lesson Plans. Content: Structures, Materials Theme: Furniture Engineers design most of the things in our world—buildings, toys, roads, electronic devices, cars, etc.
They figure out the best materials to use and how to turn them into the things we use every day. In this hands–on challenge, students consider ways to strengthen weak materials—paper and cardboard—and use them to make furniture that can support a load. In the process, they see how changing a material's shape affects its strength and experiment with how supports reinforce a structure. Students also conduct a peer review of the prototypes and, following the design process, revise, test, and improve their furniture. Get more resources about the engineering of structures.
As they build a table with newspaper, students learn strategies for making a weak material stronger, while also exploring structures and supports. Understanding: Tacoma Narrows Bridge" Michael Green: Why we should build wooden skyscrapers. Michael Green: Why we should build wooden skyscrapers. Build a Bridge. Websites American Society of Civil Engineers A site for engineering professionals with information on publications, job openings, educational programs, conferences, and other industry resources.
Association for Bridge Construction and Design Learn about the activities of this organization devoted to improving the science of bridge design, construction, and maintenance. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute This organization is dedicated to fostering greater understanding and use of precast/prestressed concrete. The Clark Bridge, Alton Illinois A photo history of the bridge featured in the NOVA program Super Bridge. Figg Engineering Group, Hanson Professional Services These two companies are the engineers of record for the Clark Bridge. Learningcenter.nsta.org/files/sc0607_49.pdf. Learningcenter.nsta.org/files/sc0703_14.pdf. Learningcenter.nsta.org/files/sc0401_30.pdf.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse "Gallopin' Gertie" BUILDING BIG: All About Bridges. Forces Lab Check out how forces affect structures like bridges.
Who Builds Big? Meet Miguel Rosales, an architect who designs beautiful bridges, and David Nyarko, an engineer who makes bridges move! Bridge Webography Check out these links to a bevy of bridge resources on the Web. The Potato Arch - Naked Scientists Kitchen Science 2010. Listen Now Download as mp3 from the show The British Science Festival What you Need What to do Making an arch is simple, you basically want to produce blocks of potato that are slightly wider at the top than the bottom.
So cut a few large chips out of the potato which are about 12-15mm square and as straight as possible. Although the blocks you make are tapered in one direction all the other corners should be right angles or your arch will be wonky, so using a set square, or something similar with a good right angle is useful to make the blocks the right shape. When you have made enough blocks to make a semi-circle try putting them together to make an arch. See how the fails if you abuse it, poke it and push it. You often see arches on the top of pillars or walls. Try making the blocks really really thin, does the arch still work?