Marshmallow bridges
We began this project by watching a science video about the challenges designers face when building a bridge. We talked about how a bridge has to get all the way across the water, but it also has to have support so it doesn’t crash or sag. They were given only two supplies for this challenge, marshmallows and toothpicks. They had an unlimited supply, but were working on a time limit. When time was up, we measured the length of the bridge and we also tried to drive a car across them to see if they could support the weight of a vehicle.
This challenge ended up teaching us more than we expected. When we did this challenge, our bridges had to sit over a weekend until we could test them on Monday. This particular weekend was hot and humid, and it changed our marshmallows. They became soggy, which caused us to deepen our learning and have a conversation about how weather and water might affect the materials a bridge should be built with.