STEM bridge-building project

This term, all Year 10 students had the opportunity to do some practical mathematics outside of the classroom. Year 10s have been learning about Pythagoras and trigonometry this term and, as part of this learning, they all took part in a STEM project focused around bridge-building.

The students were tasked with designing a new bridge to go over the Rakahuri-Ashley River out to Loburn. As part of the project, each Year 10 AKO group braved the cold and mud to walk from school to the river. They used a range of equipment to take measurements so that they could estimate the width of the river, without needing to cross it.

Once back in the classroom, they used their measurements and a combination of similar triangles and trigonometry to calculate the estimated width of the river. The Google Maps measuring tool told us that not everyone’s measurements were entirely accurate, but it led to some interesting discussions about what would need to be done differently to get a closer estimation.

Once they knew the width of the river, students were tasked with designing a scale model for a new bridge. They had to calculate exactly what resources they would require for their design and how much this would cost, making sure that they stayed within the $20,000,000 budget.

Students then used a range of popsicle sticks, paper straws, matchsticks, newspaper, string and glue to construct their bridges. There were prizes for the strongest bridge as well as the cheapest bridge that met the given load-bearing criteria.

It was great to see a wide range of designs and strategies, albeit to varying degrees of success!