Get bridge building

As a civil engineer I worked on a lot of major building and engineering projects including:
- fire station
- mental hospital
- factories
- airports
- tube stations
- rail and road tunnels
- motorways
- railways

For this reason much of the art and craft that I plan with Rachel is structured and symetrical; it just comes naturally. Even my more floaty projects end up very exacting. But today I get to celebrate that, today I can share with you the joy that is bridge building.

This is a project that can be done by anyone of any age; from pre-schoolers exploring the world around them, through to teens experimenting with physics. It's fabulous for all, especially if they're in competing teams. So come on, give it a go.

Materials
- pile of newspapers or any old paper
- a large role of cellotape
- a pair of scissors
- ten dinky cars or small wooden trains
- a gap across which you need a bridge - anything from 5cms to 1metre.




Aim
To build a bridge across a gap which will hold as many dinky cars as possible.

Instructions
There is no right or wrong way to go about this; but with Rachel I tend to try and create something which looks like a road/railway. The most important things is that it is strong but not too heavy.

1. Make rolls of paper


2. Tape the rolls together into bricks


3. Make at least six of these bricks


4. Erect the bridge with at least two layers of these bricks to span the width


5. Colour it with pens, paint it with paint or just leave it au naturel


6. Test your bridge by driving car/trains into the middle of it



I dare you not to want to build another and another and another to see how successful you can get. On the other hand that might just be us as a very engineering based family. Enjoy, I can't wait to see your bridges.

This post is happily hosted at Red Ted Art Get Crafty along with other fabulous transport crafts, please go and take a look.