CarolSimonLevin -- Program Palooza: July 2017

Take our bridge-building challenge and see who can build the strongest bridge!

Preschool Fairytale Engineering Ages 3-6
Kids Fairytale Engineering Challenges K-4
Families with children of different ages are welcome to come all together to one program.

Kids browsed books on bridges and variations on The Three Billy Goats Gruff as we waited for everyone to arrive.

Opened by asking kids to remember what we did at our previous programs (Three Little Pigs – acting it out, building houses of different materials; Falling for Rapunzel, “Throw it Out the Window” song, creating ways for Humpty Dumpty to fall safely!)

Then 4 teen volunteers performed “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” puppet show – I narrated using the script from Yummy by Lucy Cousins for the younger group and Robert Bender’s version for the second.

Older group only – read aloud: Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty (a young boy’s love of architecture comes in handy when he rescues his class by making a bridge from shoelaces and a few other items!) Booktalked her other titles.

Both groups – mentioned all bridges use two forces -- explored compression and tension – team pushing & pulling or hands pushing together, pulling apart.

Showed pictures portraying bridges from around the world featured in Philemon Sturges beautiful book Bridges are to Cross (J624.2 STU), booktalked Mordecai Gerstein’s Caldecott-winning The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Talked briefly about the different kinds of bridges – beam, arch, suspension, cable-stayed, truss; had kids and teens create human suspension bridge.