Science Technology Engineering and Math {STEM} activities are fun ways to teach kids how things work. This straw bridge activity takes just a few minutes to prep but will keep young engineers learning for hours.
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Building Straw Bridges
To give the kids a strong introduction to bridge design, we started our activity by reading Carol Johmann’s Bridges! together as a class.
Then, we talked about five popular types of bridges: arch, beam, suspension, cable-stay and truss. As we reviewed the characteristics of each one, I drew a simple anchor chart kids could refer to when they were designing their bridges later.
Then, I placed students into teams of three or four and gave each group a tray of supplies:
- Tape
- Yarn
- Scissors
- Paper clips
- Straws
Their task was simple: build a bridge that was strong enough to hold a plastic cup filled with 100 pennies.
They could cut the straws to any length, but their bridges had to sit at least one inch off the table.
Some teams succeeded and some failed, but either way, it was impressive to watch their problem solving and teamwork. They loved observing what worked for other groups and then incorporating it into their own designs.
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Looks great. How many straws seemed like the right amount?
1. I have that book! It would be a great theme for a Genius Hour, don’t you think! Very NGSS aligned…
2. The rainbow experiment is a great intro to learning about soil.
Hello! I was checking for the amount of straws that worked well-I tried to count and maybe there are 25? 30? I’d love to do this for my Summer Camp!
Hi Abby,
Yes! We recommend around 20-30 straws per group.
I’m sure your summer camp kids would love it!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador