the team built this 8ft long draw bridge 
a middle school class built this cantilever bridge 
the “luffer” lifts a through truss bridge 
this 40ft suspension bridge is rated at 4 tons 
a live load on a deck truss bridge 
Cable stayed bridge with a 5 brick live load 
measuring the deflection on a suspension bridge 
Here’s a 17ft scale model of the “fishbird” bridge 
this “whirly” rotates on casters 
a deck truss bridge 
suspension bridge OMSI 
a human suspension bridge 
an arbor bridfe 
Fernwood Crane
STEM Bridge Beams
I’ve been teaching kids about bridges and cranes since 1997. This is NOT a shop class but an integrative math/engineering curriculum. The kids and I built bridges and cranes while learning basic engineering principles and related math formulas.
www.portlandjib.com
Now however I’m using models of bridges and cranes built from BRIDGE BEAMS. These are 1/4″ ply “beams” connected with small nuts and bolts. The kids can build a crane and then take it apart and use the same pieces to build a totally different crane, or a bridge or an elevator or anything they can dream up. Here are a few examples.
