Activity title: Newspaper Bridge Building Project
Description: This activity is a good team building activity and also a good activity to practice engineering and problem solving skills. The students will work in teams to create a span bridge using a limited amount of newspaper and masking tape.
Materials needed: For each student team (2-4 students)
· 1 piece of newspaper
· 1 meter of masking tape
· Scissors
· Meter stick (if desired, but if one group gets it, all groups get it)
Prior knowledge needed: none
Time required: 20 minutes to 1 period
Special teacher procedures, safety notes, and suggestions:
· Pass out materials to all groups and give instructions so that everyone starts at the same time. You can set a standard length to build to and allow the entire time to build or can have a race to see which group finishes first. You can instead set a time and look for the longest bridge built in that time.
· Mission: Using one piece of newspaper and the 1-meter strip of masking tape, construct a bridge that will stand, with no internal supports, between two chairs or desks placed two meters apart for at least 5 seconds. The bridge cannot sag more than 1 inch. You may not use the scissors or meter stick in your construction and you cannot get additional or replacement materials.
· Alternate mission: Using the materials, make the longest unsupported span.
· Additional alternate mission: Make the bridge to be able to support a given weight (like a blackboard eraser) at the midpoint. Just make sure each group has the weight to use during construction.
Student sheet or handout (if needed): none
Scoring guide: You can give points based on how fast the team completes the project or just assign points to all people who finish the mission. If desired, you can give extra credit for teams that finish fastest if desired or build the longest bridge.