Over the past two weeks, the children have been designing and creating their own bridge based on the design of Newcastle’s Swing Bridge.
Firstly, the children spent some time investigating the inventor of the Swing Bridge, William Armstrong and then looked at different types of bridges found across the world, identifying key features such as trusses and beams. Then, the children designed their own bridges using some key features.
This week, the children looked at the key components needed for the circuit, which would make the bridge move. We used equipment including a wheel, motor, batteries and wires. The children worked carefully to put the circuit together and were proud when they managed to get the wheel to move.
Today, the children worked collaboratively to construct their bridges using art straws and masking tape. Using card as the beam, the children used the straws to make the trusses and frames for their bridges. Once made, the children tested their bridges on the wheel, making the bridge open and closed.
