This is just the cost of spaghetti; the other materials should be readily avaliable in most classrooms or households.

Civil engineers design structures such as buildings, dams, highways and bridges. Students explore the field of engineering by making a bridge using spaghetti as their primary building material. Then they test their bridges to see how much weight they can carry before breaking.

Many people in different branches of engineering work to build bridges. Civil engineers are responsible for design and construction of such structures, however they also work with mechanical engineers and material engineers to design the most stable structures. These engineers must consider many variables when creating plans, such as the distance to be spanned, where the bridge is being built, the expected type of traffic it will have to withstand, materials available, budget, and what the bridge will look like. breaking bridge civil engineering failure load spaghetti weight testing To create a design method. Group work and discussion. Building techniques that civil engineers use. 1 lb. dried spaghetti glue gun glue sticks, 1 package various weights from 5lbs - 50lbs large tub (or newspapers to spread out), to make clean-up easier 2 tables (place one foot apart) metal strip (to serve as the road) chain (to hold the weights) Who do you think creates the human-made structures in our town? Who makes sure they are safe for us to use? (Listen to student ideas.) It is civil engineers who design and create structures such as buildings, dams, highways, skyscrapers and bridges. We can explore the field of engineering by making bridges. We can then test them by applying weights to see when they break. Let's get started! Show students the available "building materials," including the metal strip "road," chain and weights that will be used for testing. Divide the class into teams of students. Have teams draw their bridge designs on paper. Make sure that bridges are long enough to span a specified distance between two tables. Create the bridge using hot glue to hold it together. When the bridges are complete, test their strength. Place a bridge so it spans across the gap between two tables. Place a tub or spread-out newspapers under the bridge to catch falling debris and make clean-up easier. Put the strip of metal on the bridge (as the road). Then apply weights on the chain, starting with 5lbs and working up to 50lbs, or until the bridge breaks. Conclude with a class discussion to compare results and draw conclusions. See the Investigating Questions. Be extremely careful while using the hot glue guns. Wear safety glasses. Beware of falling weights. What happened when you added more weights? What does the bridge look like? Does adding more height to the bridge make it stronger? What are some ways to improve your design? Use the Investigation Questions as a test, quiz or homework to gauge student comprehension.