Engineering Challenge 4 - Strength in Arches.

This week, we continued to explore the basic principles of engineering through the use of arches in bridges! 

The children made paper beam bridges and investigated the amount of weight (cubes) their ‘bridges’ could support. 

It was no surprise that 1 small beam collapsed when a weight was added. We were able to slightly strengthen our bridge by adding more beams … however, when a paper arch was added, we were amazed by the dramatic difference this made. 

We now understand how an arch in a bridge provides support and strength in weight-bearing structures - just like the Craigmore Viaduct near Newry.