Be a Bridge Architect for a Day! Architects design and oversee the construction of buildings and structures. They must not only be creative enough to come up with their own design, but they must supervise construction to be sure that their design is functional and safe. Architects draw blueprints for the buildings and structures they design. Blueprints are a type of rough draft that help plan out the architect's creation and they make it easier for builders to construct the design. Architects are more involved with how a structure fits in its surroundings based on color, texture, and how light/shadow appears on it. Engineers on the other hand, actually make the structure stand up; so they need a real love for math because they use it everyday. The engineers and architects have to work together; the architect gives the engineer his blueprint for the structure, and the engineer makes sure it will be strong enough to carry cars, trains, and people. Engineers also have to make sure that the structure is strong enough to withstand a typhoon or an earthquake, any natural disaster that may come. Potential architects/engineers must attend college to earn a bachelor's degree in architecture/engineering and for an architect, additional years of experience working in an architect's office are usually required. Potential architects must also take a test to be licensed. Sound like fun? Now is your chance to get to walk in the shoes of an architect! You are going to design and construct a bridge of your own original design. Your objective is to make it as efficient as possible, that is, the bridge should be able to support as much weight as possible. Materials for Bridge: Popsicle Sticks String/Yarn Toothpicks Scotch Tape Other Necessary Materials: Paper Ruler A Bunch of Pennies Stacked in Groups of 10 You will need two flat and stable surfaces (such as a two desk chairs) above the ground separated 6 inches to a foot apart. Note: The longer the distance, the more challenging this will be! (But there's nothing you can't do- remember, you're an architect!) Now you need to plan out your bridge's design. Ask yourself these questions: What is the simplest type of bridge I could build to connect these two surfaces? What should the length and width of the bridge be in order for it to be the most supportive? Sketch out a rough draft of your bridge. This is your blueprint. Now the fun begins…you are ready to build! Using the materials listed above, construct the structure you designed on your blueprint. You may want to tape both ends of your bridge as "supports" to the two surfaces. (Of course real bridges will have a lot better support than tape- thankfully!) Try to make your bridge as stable as possible and be sure it is built so that it can support weight. Now you are going to test the strength of your bridge. This will be done by putting weights (each "weight" is a stack of exactly 10 pennies) on your bridge. Be sure to add the weights gently. How many weights can you stack on your bridge before it begins to weaken, bend, and break? Congratulations, architects, on your bridges! So what did this experiment show you? Were you surprised by the strength of your bridge? What determines how strong a bridge is? The building material makes a big difference in the bridge's ability to bear weight- that's why bridges today are made of steel instead of Popsicle sticks! Second, how much support did your bridge really have. Unless you found some way to construct pillars to hold your bridge up, the middle was not supported well. You may have noticed this was a weak area of your bridge. Suspension and cable-stayed bridges have extra-added support that your bridge most likely did not have. You most likely created a beam bridge, which is a basic end-to-end bridge used to link short distances (like the small bridges you cross when you go hiking). Now that you have some ideas for improving your bridge, try them out! And if this experiment interested you and you would like to learn more about architects, try visiting Choosing a Career as an Architect.