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?

[Scott Jewitt]

What a fun activity! So I set out with 50 Jenga blocks. My goal was to use all of them and to spend a little money as possible. Since we had to use one of each block, (1x1s as well as 2x2s) I spent $7,950 on the requisite 14 blocks, (seven 1x1s and seven 2x2s, note: in my case, I used two blocks to equal one 2x2 block so buying one of each block resulted in me using 21of 50 blocks. Finally, I bought 29 of the least expensive blocks: white ones at $150 apiece for $4,350. In all, I spent $12,300 on the materials.
My design for the bridge was built around a wide, stable foundation and base. The base of each side is 3x3 for the first few rows and the top few rows are 2x2. The base 3x3 layers are directly on top of one another, and the upper 2x2 layers are tapered and offset in order to bridge the gap and form an arch. The final product was 10” wide and 6” tall.

For my second attempt, I consulted the NOVA Online Superbridge website, (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge/build.html) and tried to design an arch-style bridge; which ended up being similar in design to my original, first try. I added more material to the outer edges/columns of the structure thinking that I needed to counterbalance the weight of the blocks tapering to the middle as the structure gets taller. As the force traveled down the abutments I thought additional blocks would be needed on the outer edges of the bridge to disperse the downward force displaced as sideways force. The bridge did support the same text book, although the structure began to sag in the middle. In theory I think that my second design is stronger than my first, however in practice it appeared to be weaker. I believe that if the arch part of this design were one piece instead of individual blocks, then the downward force would have transferred more efficiently to sideways force and be supported by the larger (than my first design) outer edges.
In using the same 50 jenga blocks, purchased as inexpensively as possible (exactly the same as my first design) the cost for the two projects was the same: $12,300.

[Donia Winslow]

Well, I have had technical difficulties with my camera. When one shoe drops at least three drop behind it! Now, I will have to go out this weekend and purchase a new camera. I didn't have legos, but my daughter had building blocks (colors on one side). So, I decided to use those. This project just about got the best of me. I certainly utilized my 30 minutes for Phase I and 40 minutes for Phase II. Phase I was difficult. It sure didn't resemble a bridge. I found the websites during the construction of Phase II much more helpful. I ended up using 36 blocks with Phase I. It ended up being two columns and it was relatively sturdy, but certainly not attractive by any means. I accessed the websites prior to moving on to Phase II. I still had a difficult time during Phase II. Engineering is certainly not my area. But anyways, I gave it a try. Although I struggled with this assignment, I definitely feel that by utilizing technology and tapping into resources available on the internet makes it easier to build the most cost efficient bridge. Technology certainly is most useful majority of the time. Phase II is definitely more appropriate for learning today. Workers must be skilled and must be able to effectively use technology in the workplace. Critical thinking skills are crucial and being able to have access to technology and being ICT literate is more important than ever.

[Darius Horton]

When I read the directions I was excited about the prospects of building a bridge with Legoes, although I had not played with Legoes in a long time. Despite my excitement to build a bridge with Legoes I wondered how effective my bridge would be sense I have not used Legoes in awhile. Additionally, I was unsure about what type of legos I would need to complete this project. I first traveled to Walmart to buy Legoes at a discounted price, however, I found that they had a limited selection of Lego containers to buy. I pushed my misgivings to the side and noted that I did not have more time to search for Legoes on that particular so I bought the Legoes which were bigger than I thought Legoes should be. When I arrived home I opened the container to realize there were few legoes available for me to use. Hence, I postponed building my bridge until I could travel to the Lego store in Crabtree or a Toys R Us. I bought a larger container of Legoes that contained smaller Legoes. After opening the box I began to plot how I would successfully complete the activity and I placed the Legoes in piles with similar colors(to use the least inexpensive blocks). This took awhile and I realized only 20 minutes remained. Next I begin stacking the longest Legoes to build a solid foundation and realized that I needed some length at the top of the bridge so that I could connect each side. Time continued to fly and just began piecing together a bridge without regard to price or structure. The result was a bridge not properly configured to hold anything that weighed more than a sheet of paper. Perplexed by the difficulty of the task that lay before me I visited the class Ning to see what my classmates created and I realized that some students were using Legoes the size of the first blocks I bought. I had an epiphany as I realized I had overlooked my first purchase. I was able to put together a bridge rather quickly with the bigger, sturdier Legoes. It was able to hold a smaller book and a heavy dictionary. By utilizing the internet when I logged onto the class Ning I gained ideas that allowed me to create an effective and less expensive bridge.

Expenses
1st bridge=$41,400
2nd bridge=$18,950