Invite students to take their bridge engineering skills to the next level as they explore hanging bridges, including suspension and cable-stayed designs.
Invite students to take their bridge engineering skills to the next level as they explore hanging bridges, including suspension and cable-stayed designs. In this advanced challenge, learners investigate how cables, towers, and anchor points work together to distribute weight and enable bridges to span long distances over waterways. Students are then tasked with designing and building their own hanging bridge that can safely support a car crossing. This more complex build is perfect as an extension beyond standing bridge projects or as a greater challenge for older students, and the hands-on testing quickly becomes a class favorite.
1
Introduce the challenge
2
Design & build
3
Test it
4
Improve & share
At a glance
Grades
3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade
Subject
Engineering
Formats
Digital Lesson, Mini Lesson
Standards
NGSS-aligned, cross-curricular STEAM
File type
PDF (print or project)
Student work examples
Student workReal student work from Hanging BridgesWhat’s includedA quick tour of the full Digital LessonWhat’s includedShows the full Digital Lesson. The Mini Lesson has the same core pages, shorter.
