Pages

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Fairytale Engineering "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" -- Build a Better Bridge

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

image

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.

imageimage

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!)

image

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.

image

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.

image

image

imageimage

Stations:

Arch bridge models:

imageimageimageimageimageimage

 

Beam & Suspension Bridge demonstrations with straws & string:

image

imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Paper & Penny Bridge Challenge:

image

imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

K’nex Bridge Model-Making (thanks to Amy Koesler for sending me the instructions!)

imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

plus Bridge (and other) Building with the ever-popular straws and connectors for the younger kids:

imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Music playing: Philadelphia Chickens by Sandra Boynton

More ideas at: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Bridge-Building

http://showmelibrarian.blogspot.com/p/all-things-steam.html
https://radnorlibrarysmartkids.wordpress.com/

Skokie Library’s K’nex Bridge Building video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBozXnNTZ6E

7/26/17 BWL

Next week: The Tortoise & the Hare – Build a Better Obstacle Course!