Process

The process of making this bridge was not an easy one. We had to only use toothpicks, string and glue. It had to be under 40g and a minimum of 16 inches long. We had to throw away our bridge and redo it about 5 times. We could never get it under 40g without it being too weak. But by using skills we learned from STEM we came up with a new and improved plan. We decided that we should stack the toothpicks in a brick like form then wrap it in string for extra support. Lastly was added glue in almost every crack so when it dried it would all stick together and be strong and sturdy. When we tested it it held 3,700g! We were very surprised that our bridge that we had that much, we were really surprised and happy!!  

What We Learned

By doing this module we surprisingly learned a lot of different skills that could help us in the future with school, and really anything and everything else we do in life. We learned that it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to mess up sometimes, in our case 5 times, because each time you learn from your mistakes and you keep getting better and better. Our bridge was stronger and stronger each time and in the end we had a very well built bridge. It was hard sometimes and we wanted to give up but we didn’t and thats what counts!

 

Engineering Fun!

 

This module was so much fun. I loved working with my team and getting to know everybody better. We learned some of our strengths and weaknesses as people and that was really an eye opener. A lot of us also realized that engineering is possibly a pathway that we want to take because it is so much fun and really pushes you to work hard. Engineering was a lot of fun because it really opened our minds and made us think outside of the box!!

Zoe Renteria and Maddie Irwin!!