Building a Lego Bridge

[Lori Holcomb]

Please share your experiences from the Building a Lego Bridge with the class. Also, upload your photos of your bridge from Part I and Part II. What did you learn from this activity? How does this activity tie in with 21st century skills and learning?

[Jennifer Cable]

I will have to admit that I was a little wary of playing with Lego’s but it turned out to be rather enjoyable. Luckily, my youngest son, who is a junior is college, is the Lego king and had tons of Lego’s. He gave me some tips on using and building with Lego's. I was successful in building both of my bridges. The first bridge had a center support and sturdy supports on each end. The second bridge was an arch design without center support. Using technology allowed me to create a better design, both in cost and eye appeal. The use of technology gave me ideas of different ways to build the bridge and ways I could cut cost. Phase I cost me $42,500 while Phase II cost $25,100. I feel that Phase II is the more appropriate method of learning in today's society. It allows students to access many different kinds of knowledge and ideas. The more ideas and opinions student's can be exposed to, the more creative their ideas can become. In order to complete this assignment, I needed prior knowledge of what a bridge looked like, what Lego’s were and how they were to used, how to read a rule, how to add cost per color, what colors are, and basic structure design. In order for me to complete this assignment, I needed to learn more detail structural design so that the design would be safe but also more cost effective. Skills used in Phase II are very relevant to the workforce. More and more jobs require employees to be able to use the Internet. Employers are also looking for employees who have problem-solving skills and can take a project and complete it. This project also required me to move out of my comfort zone and try something that was foreign to me. This is a 21st century skill employers desire in their employees. They are looking for employees who will take risk, try new things, and come up with new ideas.

[Kaitlin]

I was not able to find any legos for the project, so I used connecting cubes. My first bridge was not successful it was not sturdy and could not hold a textbook. Since, I didn’t use legos I am not sure how much they would have cost but I can say that the second time I built my bridge it could hold a textbook. It was nice to be able to use technology. I am a very visual learner, so once I was able to see pictures of bridges it helped a lot. I got to see different styles and structures and it gave me many ideas. I had prior knowledge of what a bridge was, what they are used for and what they generally looked liked but I couldn’t picture how I wanted mine to look like. I can relate this assignment to my everyday planning. For example, in math we are given textbooks to use and we are to teach the lessons in them. However, I find a lot of times they have good concepts but the lessons are not always kid friendly. So I often go online to see if there is a way I can make the lesson more engaging and exciting for the students.

[Lauren Philbeck]

I did not have a plan when I sat down with my bucket of Legos. I just started to put them together to see what would happen. The little girl I was babysitting tried to give me some tips, but she was more interested in building a fairy house. I was surprised that I did complete a bridge within the allowed 30 minutes. Besides being somewhat unstable, and maybe slightly smaller than the required measurements, my bridge passed the test by supporting a text book. My Legos were a different color, so I did not get an exact on the money I spent to build my bridge, but I did use 90 Legos.

Before beginning my 2nd bridge, I accessed the online resources. This was helpful to me because I now had a mental picture of what I wanted my bridge to look like, as well as I knew what type of bridge would best support a text book. My 2nd bridge was much more attractive than my 1st bridge. In addition, I used only 68 Legos, which obviously cut down on costs of building my bridge. My 2nd bridge was more stable because I layered the Legos in a way to reach an appropriate height instead of building things straight up. My first bridge had a support system that was much too skinny.

I believe this relates to 21st Century learning and skills because it shows that in today’s society one cannot do things totally alone and there is also no shame in using resources and getting help from others. Brainstorming with others and accessing resources is only going to produce a better, more effective product. While doing this project, I also recognized the time element. There are always going to be time limits and restraints in today’s workforce. This makes accessing resources all the more important because there is no time to be wasted.

The pics are only of my 1st bridge.... my camera died before the 2nd was complete.

[Kyleen Burgess]

What a hunt I had to go on to find Legos! My son is not old enough yet for them and most of the children I work with in my 4-H program on a daily basis are too old for Legos, or they will not admit they had any! I finally sent out an email to my homeschool families and I received a box full complete with ideas on how to build a bridge. No worries however, I can up with my design on my own.

Phase 1 of my bridge was simple using a straight up technique. I used the less is more approach. I did not care what cost I incurred while building my bridge. My husband told me that my plan would never work, however I did prove him wrong. Phase 1 had an expense total of $19,200. Much like the bridge going from the main land outer banks to Hatteras Island, it needs some repair but it did hold!

Phase 2 used the same concept as Phase 1; however instead of stacking legos double beside each other I used the stagger method. I saw this method used in several different designs on the internet. The method allowed me to build the same columns down for support, using half the amount of legos. The total cost for this bridge was $12,000. This time I was able to use mostly white, helping to cut cost dramatically.

I believe this relates to 21st Century skills and learning because it exposes us to new ideas, which perhaps we would have never though of on our own. Living in Northeastern NC there are very few bridges that I pass over on a regular basis so this activity allowed me to see designs that I had not seen before in bridge building. Not only was I able to go outside the area in which I live in via the internet to see bridges, but I was exposed to new ideas. This also relates to 21st century skills and learning because it teaches how to use the internet as a learning resource. Using the internet in today’s society is a skill that almost everyone needs to know. I agree with Jennifer in that this activity allows students to pick up skills that employers are looking for; such as taking a risk, trying new things and coming up with new and innovative ideas.

[Kelly Maxwell]

I definately enjoyed this assignment, but since I do not live at my parents house I did not have access to many legos anymore. So I had to make do with my friends daughters lego set, but I really enjoyed it beacuse they had pink in them which I had not seen before. I thought I would be fine using a set of 200 legos, but I did not realize how many useless parts are in a lego set. My first bridge I built was an inverted arch type bridge that I was successful with but eventually it collapsed. I believe the reason was due to a lack of support within the middle of the arch. Since I had a limited number of resources (i.e. legos) I was forced to use all my legos. My first bridge consisted of 66 legos with an estimated cost for my orginial bridge was $27,600.

Then on my second attempt I made the center beam much taller then the side supports and as a result the pressure was dispersed to the sides of the structure. I still had to use my original 66 legos with an estimated cost of $27,600 but my making the center support taller my bridge was more structurally sound. As for the 21st Century Skills I believe that this type of assignment allows the students to draw on many different skills that they can use. The project provided an opportunity for students to have a challenge ahead of them and to be able to use a hands on approach to creating a phsyical product using the old fashion techniqe of trial and error. Problem solving skills are very important in the workplace and are highly demaned by many employees in highly competitive markets

[Loretta Batchelor]

Thank goodness I have kids that can help me! This Lego Project was a great activity for me to do with my 8 year old daughter and my 6 year old son. The first bridge I built according to the assignment sheet costs $25,100. It was pretty standard and used a lot of blocks. After accessing some of the websites listed and searching Google on my own, I gain some knowledge that helped me distribute the weight on blocks instead of just stacking them up straight. The Lego building software is incredible in the way in which you can change directions and angles in which you are building the structure. My second bridge costs $22,670. This is some better but now I know why I am not an engineer!
I really enjoyed this activity and see how much technology can benefit us in many ways.

[Kay Pitchford]

My first bridge had a simple, three-column design with one "lane" across the top. I used 48 legos for this design. I am unsure of the value of the bridge because my set did not have a lot of variety, and I did not know the difference between the single legos and the double legos (one column versus two colums?). Most of my set were two-column pieces, and I used 48 pieces in the design.

I'm not very creative, so I had difficulty coming up with a different design, and I was frustrated. Even with checking out the different websites, I was unable to vary the design considerably. I took my first bridge completely apart, but after several failed attempts, I rebuilt my first bridge and added another column to each end. This design took more pieces (63), but it was much stronger.

This sort of activity, especially if completed in a group, is a good example of using 21st century skills. It is an inquiry-based lesson (Can you create a cost-effective bridge that will hold a textbook?). Students would work in groups (collaborate) to solve the problem, and effectively build the bridges using communication. By introducing technology in the second challenge, students would use search strategies and resources to help solve the problem. This problem simulates a real-lfe situation of using materials effectively, helping build planning skills. If there are enough legos, this would be an interesting project to try.

[Laura English Lewis]

I did not have any Lego blocks at home to build the bridge, so my first task for this activity was to go to Wal-Mart. The first picture below shows the Mega Blocks, Building Imagination Bag that I purchased. I was immediately struck by an advertising block on the bag that contained 8468 1+ 80 PCS. My thoughts were that wow there are 8468 building imagination that a child can do from this bag, so I shouldn’t have any problems creating a bridge, keeping the cost of building the bridge low, making sure that a boat could go through both sides, and placing a text book on top of the bridge.

I started looking for the colors, and counting my individual pieces to help me keep track of the cost of building my bridge. The Mega Blocks fun activities for endless possibilities contained 5 of the colors listed in our assignment, which were Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Gray. There was one additional color which was Orange, so I decided to use my Orange Blocks for White when calculating my expenses. You see, I was still positive that I would not have any problems building my bridge. To keep track of my cost I started counting my pieces, again, I notice that I had more of some of the pieces, less of others, and some of the sizes of the blocks were different. My thoughts were that no matter the size of the block the cost would still remain the same.


Mega Blocks
12 Reds = $250.00 each for a total of $3,000.00
29 Blues = $350.00 each for a total of $10,150.00
6 Orange = $150.00 each for a total of $1,200.00
4 Gray = $400.00 each for a total of $1,600.00
20 Yellow = $450.00 each for a total of $80,000.00

I started putting my bridge together all I could think of was don’t use too many Yellow, don’t use the Gray. Well, I but something together , two columns it didn’t look to much like a bridge, however, as soon as I placed my text book on the top it collapses before I could take a picture. My first thought was that I needed more blocks. I have my Mega Blocks, however, I am at step one.

[Lori Holcomb]

It sounds like you have all enjoyed this activity and have begun to get a sense of some the skills and tools that our students will need in order to be successful for the 21st century. What can you take away from this activity that you can relate to 21st century teaching and learning? Based on your experiences, why do you think it is important for students to possess and maintain the skills necessary for the 21st century??

[Loretta Batchelor]

Technology is changing every day and therefore as teachers, we must prepare our students to search the internet and find up-to-date information to use to help them complete tasks at school, work and play.

I think that some students hesitate to search for new stuff instead like me, just try it the way in which I already know.
Students must be willing to change their ways and look for different, new and innovative ways to tackle everyday tasks.
Loretta

[Veronica Lewis]

The one thing that I took from this assignment is to work smarter and not harder. Technology has made it possible to tap into resources which will assist in problem solving in areas in which the individual person may not be well trained. This can lead to improvements in the current design and can continue to improve on any process by creative thinkers that offer a different perspective.

[Karen Hughes]

For me this activity reinforced the "Do not reinvent the wheel theory." We as educators need to make sure that our students are efficient and effective users of the resources and information available through the Internet. The Internet has enabled sharing expertise globally at the click of a button and we need to take advantage of this ability.

Karen Hughes