Lincoln youngsters test bridges to destruction
Pupils at a Lincoln school were able to put their maths and science skills to good use by building and testing bridges in a practical session led by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) East Midlands region.
More than 60 youngsters 12-14 year olds from The Priory Academy LSST, Lincoln took part in the ‘Input’ session led by ICE East Midlands volunteer ambassadors.
The session involved the pupils designing and constructing bridges made of paper materials. Some chose designs to the ‘Input’ specification, while others chose to use their own design. They then tested them to the point of destruction to see how they behaved under loading conditions.
Each group was asked to describe why they had chosen their bridge design and also learned about how and why bridges can fail.
Claire Greenwood, ICE County Ambassador for Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire commented: “Civil engineering touches the lives of us all – providing water, waste, water treatment, transport and maintenance.
“Sessions such as this allow the youngsters to find out more about these vital systems, using practical methods which allow them to use the science and maths skills they learn in class.”
ICE East Midlands runs several schools activities, including: Bridge to Schools, Input and the Rapid Response Engineering Challenge. For more information, see the education section of the ICE East Midlands website.