Whether it’s the loud “CRACK” that draws you in or the hands-on experience competitions give prospective engineers, bridge building is an engaging way to promote project-based learning.

Students will gain an understanding of how forces act in a truss and experience the engineering design cycle as they identify weaknesses and modify their bridge design to improve performance. From middle school through high school, and even into college, bridge building competitions are a great way to demonstrate—and test—complex engineering concepts, like measuring applied load and deflection or determining the modulus of elasticity. Vernier engineering specialist Tom Smith will go over the technology that educators, and bridge building competition organizers, trust to help future engineers learn to build better bridges.

What You'll Learn

You will

✔ Find out how to use the Go Direct^® Structures & Materials Tester to evaluate truss, bridge, or other structure strength by measuring the applied load and deflection.

✔ Explore teaching strategies to help students test, improve, and retest their bridges while building their engineering and mathematical skills.

✔ Ask our engineering expert your bridge-building questions, and get our best tips for instructing students during a competition.