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    Bridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Bridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Bridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Ebook154 pages1 hour

    Bridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

    By Jennifer Swanson and Bryan Stone

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    About this ebook

    Getting from one place to another sounds easy if you are on a straight piece of land, but what if you have to get over—or under—a body of water or a deep gorge? Build a bridge! Bridges are the great connectors. They allow us to travel the twists and turns, highs and lows, ins and out of every geographic feature in our world. Bridges! With 25 Science Projects for Kids introduces readers ages 7 to 10 to the concepts and vocabulary of bridge construction through the lenses of history, science, engineering, math, and technology.

    From the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Tower Bridge in London, bridges are a huge part of our life. But how are these amazing structures built? What forces keep it standing? What might cause it to fall down? And who decides which type of bridge to use? In Bridges! With 25 Science Projects for Kids,one of four titles in the Explore Engineering set, readers discover how these extraordinary feats of engineering are created, and apply what they have learned to hands-on, critical-thinking activities that include building different types of bridges, such as truss, cantilever, and suspension bridges, out of different materials and modeling different types of supports. They examine the natural forces that affect structure selection and appearance, and also learn about the types of support required for each. Trivia, cartoon illustrations, links to online videos and other sources, and clear diagrams round out this book and make it fun and interesting for class discussions.

    Following the guidelines set forth in the NGSS/NSTA engineering and design standards, teachers can feel comfortable using this book as a guide for targeted learning in their classrooms. In the Explore Engineering set, readers ages 7 to 10 develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers.

    Titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges! With 25 Science Projects for Kids;Canals and Dams! With 25 Science Projects for Kids; Tunnels! With 25 Science Projects for Kids; and Skyscrapers! With 25 Science Projects for Kids.

    Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series for children ages 7–10 integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNomad Press
    Release dateAug 1, 2018
    ISBN9781619305892
    Bridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids
    Author

    Jennifer Swanson

    Jennifer Swanson is the author of 45+ nonfiction books for kids. Her passion for science and technology resonates in all her books and her work has won multiple awards including a Green Earth Book Honor Award, three Florida Book Awards, California Reading Association awards, a Parent's Choice Gold award, and a 2021 Kirkus Best Books Award. Jennifer is an accomplished speaker at events and schools around the country, the Highlights Foundation, the National NSTA conferences, the World Science Festival in NYC, and the Library of Congress' National Book Festival. She lives in Jacksonville with her husband and two dogs.

    Read more from Jennifer Swanson

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      Book preview

      Bridges! - Jennifer Swanson

      Titles in the Explore Engineering Set

      Check out more titles at www.nomadpress.net

      Nomad Press

      A division of Nomad Communications

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Copyright © 2018 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from

      the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use.

      The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.

      Educational Consultant, Marla Conn

      Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to

      Nomad Press

      2456 Christian St.

      White River Junction, VT 05001

      www.nomadpress.net

      Printed in the United States of America.

      CONTENTS

      Timeline

      Introduction

      Let’s Explore Bridges

      Chapter 1

      Why Do We Need Bridges?

      Chapter 2

      Engineering and Design

      Chapter 3

      Types of Bridges

      Chapter 4

      Let the Building Begin!

      Chapter 5

      Famous Bridges

      Glossary*Metric Conversions

      Resources*Essential Questions*Index

      Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

      If the QR code doesn’t work, there’s a list of URLs on the Resources page. Or, try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts to find other helpful sources.

      KEYWORD PROMPTS

      TIMELINE

      PREHISTORIC TIMES:

      Simple bridges consist of a log over a stream.

      1600 BCE:

      A bridge is built over the River Havos in Mycenae, Greece.

      850 BCE:

      A stone arch bridge is built in Izmir, Turkey.

      FIRST CENTURY CE:

      Romans begin building arch bridges.

      134 CE:

      Hadrian’s Bridge is built in Rome, Italy. Part of this very strong stone arch bridge is still standing today.

      SIXTH CENTURY CE:

      Zhaozhou Bridge is built in China.

      1176–1209:

      London Bridge is built in England. This is the first arch bridge to be built in tidal waters, which means it has to deal with the rising and lowering of the river tides.

      1345:

      Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence, Italy, is built. The inhabited stone arch bridge still has stores on it.

      1591:

      Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy, is constructed. This stone, inhabited arch bridge is still standing today.

      1706:

      Luding Bridge, the oldest suspension bridge in China, is constructed.

      1779:

      The first iron bridge is built in England. It spans 100 feet.

      1866:

      The first cantilever bridge is built by Heinrich Gerber in Germany.

      1883:

      The Brooklyn Bridge is built in New York. It is a cable-stayed suspension bridge.

      1886:

      Construction begins on the Tower Bridge in London. It is both a moveable bridge and a suspension bridge.

      1923:

      Construction begins on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. It is an arch bridge made completely out of steel.

      1933:

      The Golden Gate Bridge is built across the entrance to San Francisco Bay in California. It is a suspension bridge.

      2004:

      The tallest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct in Millau, France, opens. The cable-stayed bridge rises 1,125 feet off the ground.

      2008:

      The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan is completed. It is the fourth-tallest bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world.

      OCTOBER 2017:

      The old Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City is destroyed, replaced by a new bridge, signaling awareness on the part of engineers that old bridges need to be repaired or replaced to keep travel safe for everyone.

      INTRODUCTION

      LET’S EXPLORE BRIDGES

      Imagine that you’re sitting on the school bus, on your way to school. As the bus bounces along the road, you look up. Huge steel bars and cables rise up around you toward the sky. You tip your head back to see how high they go. What are you looking at? Parts of a bridge! Look down and you’ll notice that the bus is crossing something, such as a river.

      Bridges connect things. They allow people to move from one place to another more easily. A bridge can cross a road, a narrow valley, or even a body of water.

      WORDS TO KNOW

      steel: a hard, strong material made of iron combined with other elements.

      bridge: a structure built to cross something that blocks your way, such as a river, bay, road, railway, or valley.

      canyon: a deep trench in the earth, often with steep sides.

      BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. These nonreligious terms correspond to BC and AD. This book was printed in 2018 CE.

      goods: items, such as food and clothing, that people can buy and sell.

      arch: a curved structure in the shape of an upside-down U or semi-circle.

      engineer: a person who uses science, math, and creativity to design and build things.

      iron: a strong, hard, magnetic metal.

      span: to stretch from side to side of something. Also, the distance between two things.

      Bridges pass over lakes and rivers, connect mountains, and cross canyons. There is even a bridge across the Grand Canyon!

      Bridges have been around for thousands of years. The ancient Romans first built bridges in the second century BCE. They were built to allow people to cross rivers to trade goods and tell each other news. Roman armies needed these bridges to move from one place to another.

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