A quick note on materials before we get started. We can provide kits, or you can find these materials around your house or for a couple dollars at the grocery store. We recommend:
- Spaghetti and Marshmallows for our youngest builders. They are easy to work with (but a bit sticky).
- Straws and Tape for tower builders that want to reach the sky
- Toothpicks and gummy candy for tower builders that want to test the strength of these small materials.
We also utilize a few free bridge building apps to help you test these ideas out in virtual physics simulators:
- Build a Bridge! is a freemium game available on Android and iOS.
- Bridge Construction Free is a limited free game available for iOS.
- Physics Simulation Building Destruction is a free game available on Android and iOS.
Here are the STEM challenges that will help you build your brain power!
- Challenge 13: Build the first 5 bridges in the app. (Click here if you have trouble installing it!)
- Challenge 14: Build the tallest tower possible with 20 straws and tape.
- Challenge 15: Build a bridge tower IRL.
- Challenge 16: Building a toothpick tower that can support a brick.
- Challenge 17: Becoming an accomplished virtual bridge builder. (Challenges 6-10 in the app)
- Challenge 18: Building a tall bridge
- Challenge 19: Building a long bridge
- Challenge 20: Becoming an advanced virtual bridge builder. (Challenges 11-15 in the app)
- Challenge 21: Becoming an expert virtual bridge builder! (Challenges 16-20 in the app)