Connecting People: Bridge Design Challenge

Students will:

• Use the Design Thinking Process to problem-solve a challenge and prototype a solution.

• Develop communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills by working as a group to solve a challenge. 

Students can:

• Follow key aspects of the Design Thinking Process to solve a challenge and prototype a solution.

• Work collaboratively with classmates to effectively communicate group responsibilities when planning and making.

• Respond to the prompt and challenges that arise throughout the activity using critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

Empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test, feedback, engineer, sketch, bridge, force, load.

The Stanford Design Thinking Process helps solve complex problems with creative solutions.

We've broken down the process to support you when engaging with your Makedo Design Challenge here.

Creativity and innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processesb. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

• MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment.

  • Alignment: The challenge clearly defines the problem, criteria (spanning a gap, holding weight), and constraints (cardboard, Makedo tools, self-supporting).

• MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

  • Alignment: Students can test their bridges and then compare the strengths and weaknesses of different designs (e.g., arch vs. truss).

• MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

  • Alignment: After testing, students can identify what made a particular bridge strong—perhaps a specific type of joint or a unique shape—and apply that knowledge to refine their own or a new design.

• MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

  • Alignment: The entire project is an iterative process of building, testing with a load, and modifying the design to make it stronger.

• MS-PS2-1: Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.

  • Alignment: Students will explore forces like compression and tension as they build and test their bridge. Compression is a pushing force that squeezes material, while tension is a pulling force that stretches it.

• MP.4: Model with mathematics. Students will use geometric shapes and measurements to create their designs. They might use scale drawings or simple mathematical models to plan the structure of the bridge.

• MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically. Students will need to use their Makedo tools and rulers for precise cuts and connections.

• MP.6: Attend to precision. An unstable bridge can result from imprecise measurements or poorly made connections, so students must be precise.

• MP.7: Look for and make use of structure. This is a core part of the challenge. Students will discover that certain shapes, like triangles, are inherently more stable than others. They will learn how to create a strong structural frame.

• MS Science TEKS (6.8B, 7.7B, 8.6B): Identify and describe the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

• Alignment: The bridge is a static structure, but students will be testing its ability to withstand an unbalanced force (a load).

• HS Physics TEKS (P.5B): Design and implement experimental procedures, including the selection of equipment and the proper manipulation of variables, to investigate and describe the effects of forces on the motion of objects.

Design and Technology

• Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2):

  • Design: Students should be taught to design purposeful, functional products based on design criteria. The bridge is a highly functional product, and the challenge provides clear criteria.

  • Make: Students are required to select and use a range of tools and materials. They'll use Makedo tools, connectors, and cardboard.

  • Evaluate: They should be taught to evaluate their ideas and products. The bridge's ability to hold weight and span a gap is a quantifiable evaluation.

• Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6):

  • Design: Students should generate, develop, model, and communicate their ideas through annotated sketches and prototypes.

  • Make: They'll select and use a wider range of tools and materials, measuring, marking out, and cutting with greater precision.

  • Evaluate: Students should evaluate their work against design criteria and consider the views of others. They'll test their bridge and get feedback on its strength and design.

  • Technical Knowledge: They should be taught how to strengthen, stiffen, and reinforce more complex structures. This is the core of the challenge as students discover which shapes and joint types create a stronger bridge.

  Science

  • Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2):

    • Students should be taught about pushes and pulls. They will experience this as they test their bridge's ability to withstand a pushing force (the load) and a pulling force (tension).

  • Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6):

    • Students should identify and describe the effects of forces, including friction and air resistance. While not the main focus, they may observe how these forces affect the bridge's stability.

    • They should be taught to investigate and describe the effects of different forces, and how levers, gears, and pulleys work. Although a bridge primarily uses compression and tension, the concepts of forces are directly applicable.

    Mathematics

    Key Stage 1 & 2:

    • Measurement: Students will use rulers to measure the one-meter gap and the cardboard pieces. They'll need to measure accurately to ensure their bridge spans the required distance.

    • Geometry: Students will learn about the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. They'll discover that certain shapes, like triangles, provide much more stability and strength than others. They'll also be using geometric reasoning to design arches or trusses.

    • Problem Solving: The entire challenge is a problem-solving exercise that requires students to apply mathematical knowledge to a real-world scenario.

• Science and Technology (2022):

  • Overall Expectation A2: Apply the engineering design process and coding skills to design, build, and test devices, models, and/or structures.

  • Specific Expectation A2.2: Follow an engineering design process to design, build, and test a device, model, or structure that addresses a need or want, and make improvements to the design based on testing and peer feedback.

  • Overall Expectation D2 (Structures and Mechanisms): Investigate the properties of materials and the components of structures, and demonstrate an understanding that the properties and components of a structure determine its function.

  • Specific Expectation D2.2: Investigate forces that act on and within structures and the way the structures respond to these forces.