December 31, 2011 |??
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One winning solution, displayed at the Museum of Science Boston
The paper bridge we built, holding up numerous poker chips
How does a bridge work? Here?s a simple activity for kids that demonstrates the principles that keep bridges standing:?all you need is a bowl or plastic container, a small sheet of paper, and a few pennies (or a few small toys).?Ask your child (or children) how they might fold the paper so it would bridge the container and hold one or more of the plastic toys. ?I found the solution to be completely unintuitive, so if the child looks totally lost, show them one possible solution [above] and then let them experiment with other designs to see if they can figure out why some work better than others.
For a more in-depth understanding of bridges, including the forces of compression and tension, visit our Bring Science Home page.
I found the above activity at Boston?s highly recommended Museum of Science. The museum?s well-staffed Discovery Room, for kids 8 and younger, is staffed with volunteers who excel at introducing concepts of engineering, paleontology, biology, and other scientific fields.?See more Museum of Science activities?here.
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About the Author: Anna Kuchment edits the Advances news section for Scientific American and was previously a reporter, writer and editor with Newsweek magazine. Her first book, ?The Forgotten Cure,? about bacteriophage viruses and their potential as weapons against antibiotic resistance, will be published in the fall of 2011 by Copernicus Books. Follow on Twitter @akuchment.More??
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=7f28a522ad39160f43f4f183cfce82ce
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