Carrots Are Orange

Montessori Parenting & Learning

  • Montessori
    • Principles
    • Curriculum
      • Geography
      • History
      • Language
      • Life Science
        • Botany
        • Zoology
      • Math
      • Peace
      • Practical Life
      • Sensorial
    • Classroom
    • Theory
    • Materials
    • Courses
    • Printables
  • Activities
    • Art
    • Fall
    • Montessori
    • Outdoor
    • Science
    • Summer
    • Fine Motor
  • Parenting
    • Montessori Toys
    • Montessori At Home
    • Mindfulness
    • Social & Emotional Learning
    • Special Needs
      • Anxiety In Kids
      • Gifted Children
      • Executive Functioning
      • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Printables
  • Resources
    • Book Lists
    • Gift Guides
    • Montessori Materials
    • Montessori Toys
  • Newsletter
  • About
    • Contact
Home » Activities » Science » Learn about Bridges with Kids – Teaching Engineering

Learn about Bridges with Kids – Teaching Engineering

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure .

Young children are budding engineers if we let them. This post helps kids learn about bridges.

Learn all about Bridges with Kids

{Thanks to Brian Galindo’s “15 Wonderful Quotes about Life from Children’s Books” for this image.}

My sons adore the book, Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty. There is so much joy in watching their desire to learn more ignite right in front of my eyes.


We have wonderful building blocks, we have legos and we certainly spend loads of time outside using natural objects to build and to create.

Learn about Bridges with Kids

The opportunities are endless. My 3 year old uses materials that we adults would never think to use to create and to imagine new things. This post includes ideas on how to learn about bridges with kids.

melissa_doug_classic_toys

“Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” ~ Walt Disney

Learning about Bridges

If you’re a parent or educator wanting to bring this type of excitement and learning into your environment, beginning the journey is quite simple.  Get your hands on Andrea Beaty’s books. Many libraries will have these books but as always Amazon offers the books at great prices.

Types of Bridges for Kids

There are several types of bridges about which learning more details is time well spent. Here are a few bridge definitions. These six bridges are the main types. If you’d like to see the myriad of bridges all around the world, check out this ultimate list of bridges.

Arch Bridge

Arch – An arch is the main structural component, which is always located below the bridge, never above it. The core component of the arch bridge is its abutments and pillars, which carry the weight and force of the entire bridge structure.

Beam – This bridge is the most simple and thus was the first type of bridges to be built historically. One or many horizontal beams span an area between abutments or relieve some of the pressure on structural piers. The core force that impacts a beam bridge is the transformation of vertical force into shear and flexural load that is transferred to the support structures.

Cantilever Bridge

Cantilever – This bridge is somewhat similar in appearance to arch bridges. However, they support their load not via a vertical bracing but through diagonal bracing with horizontal beams that are supported on one end only. 

Suspension Bridge

Suspension – Suspension bridges utilize ropes or cables spreading from the vertical suspenders to hold the weight of bridge deck and traffic.  The Golden Gate Bridge is an example of a suspension bridge.

Truss Bridge

Truss – This type of bridge uses a diagonal mesh of triangle-shaped posts above the bridge to distribute forces across almost the entire bridge structure. 

Source: History of Bridges

Facts about Bridges

World’s Longest Bridge –  Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in China is over 100 miles long, is the longest in the world.

World’s Tallest Bridge – Millau Viaduct over the River Tarn in southern France (343 meters high) is the tallest bridge in the world. It is of the cable-stayed type.

World’s Oldest Bridge – Slab-stone bridge over River Meles in Izmir, Turkey was built in 850 BC, thus making it the world’s oldest bridge. Although the Mycenaean Arkadiko Bridge in Greece is the oldest existing arch-shaped bridge dating around 1300 BC.

Arkadiko Mycenaean Bridge

{Source: By Flausa123 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0}

Largest Arch Bridge – The Chaotianmen Bridge in Chongqing, Southwest China is the largest through arch bridge in the world. It is 1741 meters in length.

Source: Science Struck

Did you know? The longer a beam bridge, the weaker it is. Typically, beam bridges are not more than 76 meters long.

Read this Children’s Book about Building

Learn about bridges get this book

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Create the Environment & They Will Build

My sons took this book and ran with their imaginations. They began grabbing materials to build without my intervention. Children will do that if you create an environment for them to do so.

Bridge Building Games

How to Ignite a Desire to Build

  • Build a library of books about children using their imaginations to create and to invent
  • Use the growth mindset. Support and encourage the child, even when failure happens
  • Go outside and invite children to gather items with which they wish to build
  • Leave baskets of paper, paperclips, pennies, blocks, straws, any material with which a child may be able to explore and build. Perhaps include a control chart of an example of what they can do with these materials. Your goal should be to create an invitation for the children to build whatever they wish. Build a bridge out of craft sticks, paper, and toothpicks.
  • Plan an excursion to a bridge, either on your own study and define the type of bridge, or perhaps there is a bridge with staff in your area willing to take the children behind the scenes like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington

creativity_kids

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

Explore these Lesson & Activity Resources

  • Types of Bridges Montessori 3 part Cards
  • Activities from the Rochester Bridge Trust
  • Teacher’s Guide for Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
  • The Exploratorium 
  • Simple Paper Bridge Activity 
  • Straw Truss Bridge
  • Easy Arm Cantilever Bridge
  • Build a Bridge Activity from Kids Activities Blog
  • Engineering Books for Kids

Thanks for visiting!
Marnie

Other Science Activities:

How to Build a Magnetic Car with Your Kids

DIY Magnetic Sand Table

Magnetism Science Experiments for Kids: Magnetic Board

Light Activities for Preschoolers - Learning about Light Energy

The Ultimate List of Light Energy Experiments for Kids

Science Activity with Milk & Food Coloring

Science of Flight Activities for Kids

Easy Science Activity with Balloons - How to Build a Balloon Rocket

Easy Science Experiments for Kids - Surface Tension

Easy Motion Science Experiment that Will Wow Your Kids

10+ Amazing Science Activities for Preschoolers

Arctic Animal Science Experiment for Preschoolers

Super Cool Easy Science Experiments for Kids - Learn about Sound

Preschool Physical Science Activity - Leaf Pounding

The Coolest Preschool Science Activity - Surface Tension

What Do Germs Look Like - Science Activity for Kids

Explore How Cats Eyes Glow with this Science Activity

How to Make a Pulley with Kids - Easy Science Activity

Electricity Experiments with Kids: Super Easy Science Experiments

[Baking Soda and Vinegar] Experiment with Balloons - Earth Day Science

Tagged With: Book Lists, Homeschool, Reading and Writing, Technology & Engineering

About Marnie Craycroft

Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the daughter of a nearly four decade veteran of the public school systems. Teaching has always been a part of her life. She founded Carrots Are Orange in 2010.

Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori learning and living website for parents and teachers.

Marnie graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. She spent nearly a decade working in investment management. In 2006, she earned her MA in business from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.

Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999 and currently lives in Boulder with her husband and three sons. She is Montessori trained. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, PBS Kids, BabyCenter, the Melissa & Doug blog, Huffington Post, and WhattoExpect.com. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three sons), photography, and outdoor adventures.

« The Ultimate List of Preschool Books
Language Activities for Preschoolers »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • Unschooling: Can I Homeschool Without a Curriculum?
  • Resources for Teaching Geography to Elementary Aged Kids
  • 65+ Fantasy Fiction Books for 11 to 13 Year Old Boys and Girls
  • Looking for Delightful Read-Aloud Books for the Whole Family?
  • 2nd Grade Homeschool Schedule – Week 1

Copyright © 2022 Carrots Are Orange · Disclosure & Copyright · Site by Design by Insight

  • 280