Building bridges at Farlington

The Year 7 girls at Farlington School were set a bridge building challenge over the Easter holiday. This project fitted into the topic on Forces they have been studying.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th May 2015, 11:11 BST
Caitlin Ruddy Creativity Winner A SUS-150430-155729001Caitlin Ruddy Creativity Winner A SUS-150430-155729001
Caitlin Ruddy Creativity Winner A SUS-150430-155729001

The teachers gave the girls some different bridge types to think about and discussed different functions, such as crossing a deep valley or a wide, shallow river, carrying heavy traffic or pedestrians. The girls were asked to research at least two different types of bridge before designing and constructing their own. Their bridge had to cross a 30cm span and could be entered into one of three categories: creative design, construction design or strength.

The girls were very enthusiastic and worked hard on both the research element and the actual construction, gaining a real sense of achievement from the project. The final designs were very varied with examples of truss bridges, rope bridges, suspension bridges and arch bridges. Many girls chose to construct their bridge out of wood, but more unusual materials included Pringles tubes, icing, wire mesh and chocolate.

Report and pictures contributed by Farlington School.