Build A Bridge with Popsicle Sticks - STEM Activities for Kids
Looking for a fun way to get your kids excited about STEM? The popsicle stick bridge is a popular STEM challenge that kids of all ages love to participate in. The challenge is to build a bridge that can support the most weight.
This challenge helps kids understand the basics of force and how bridges are designed. Young children will have fun building their bridges and experimenting with the end product. Older children might want to try and beat the current record-holding popsicle bridge, which was able to support 1,456 pounds!
The best part about this activity is how easy it is. It’s something anyone can do at home!
What You'll Need:
Popsicle sticks, so many popsicle sticks
Hot glue gun and glue
Scissors
Scale for weighing items
Items for testing the bridge’s strength.
Safety Tips:
Help younger children with the hot glue gun to make sure they don’t burn themselves. You may also need to assist them with weighing various objects.
Step 1: Think About the Bridge Design
Before you start building the bridge, think about how you will design the structure. What makes a strong bridge? Older children can research this on their own or parents can help younger ones find pictures of bridges on the internet.
The Truss bridge design is generally the most popular design because it uses triangles which are easy to make and do a great job supporting weight.
Step 2: Set Up a Work Area
Gather your popsicle sticks, scissors, hot glue gun, and glue. Plug in the hot glue gun so it can warm up and get ready to start building! You might want to keep a picture or drawing of your design nearby so you can easily reference it while you build.
Step 3: Start Building Your Bridge
You might want to use the scissors to cut your popsicle sticks into various sizes. If your bridge includes triangle shapes, make all of the triangles separately first. You can start by creating the sides of your bridge and then move on to the base. Make all of the small shapes first and then put everything together.
Step 4: Add Support as Needed
As you start putting all of your smaller pieces together, you might realize some places need more support. Add more popsicle sticks to areas that feel weak and think of ways you can prevent the bridge from collapsing.
Step 5: Test Your Bridge
Now, this is where it gets really exciting! Once the bridge is finished, test how much weight it can support. Depending on the shape of your bridge, you can either stack items on top of it or use a string and hook to hang items under the bridge. Just make sure you weigh your item before testing it.
Conclusion
This activity can be done again and again. Each time your child makes a new attempt at building a bridge, they learn from their past trials and use new information to build a stronger bridge. This can really spark a passion for innovative design and engineering. Have fun!
