West Point Bridge Designer
8:13 pm on the 7th of February, 2007I saw on the last update of the Royal High School CDT Dept website* that their S1 pupils have been using a package called West Point Bridge Designer to simulate bridges, I’d not heard of this before although I’ve seen others.
Tonight I downloaded it and had a play, interestingly, for whatever reason I quickly turned from trying to faithfully re-create the Forth Bridge, to trying to get the truck that tests the bridges to fall through the floor. It must be a boy thing, this is what the RHS pupils have been doing, in particular Ryan who’s bridge was on the CDT webpage.
It was harder than it sounds, the driver of the truck is quite bright, if he thinks the bridge won’t hold his truck he won’t drive onto it. I had to tease him on with a bridge that was pretty sound until one of the very last members which I wickedly made too weak, the result:
Now I want to make a real bridge, strong enough to hold my own weight. I just have to decide on a material, I was thinking of matches and PVA but does anyone have any other (more absurd the better) ideas?
*more on this in a later post: RHS CDT page
February 8th, 2007 at 1:41 pm on the 8th of February, 2007
toilet rolls and sticky backed plastic?
February 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pm on the 8th of February, 2007
It’s an idea, an obvious suspension bridge. It’ll take some collecting though.
February 9th, 2007 at 7:19 pm on the 9th of February, 2007
Thanks for the Bridge designer.
I have a higher Tech studies class ALL going home to play……… I mean learn about structures.
As for a structure which holds your self. I take my SG class to the hall with a length of handrail. They form the structure. This is easy when thay stand directly under the hand rail but, as I explain, structures require spaces down the middle of them as they developed. Usually for churches. So when they try and hold this particular 100kg prop forward of a teacher they struggle. So flying butteresses are added by more pupils. this time the additional pupils push, straight armed, onto the shoulder blades of the main supports.
They can carry my weight and they literally feel the forces and the reactions directly
February 10th, 2007 at 6:16 pm on the 10th of February, 2007
That’s a great idea Ian! I’d like to try it out if I get a chance when I start teaching.
I’m trying to talk my Dad into going walking sometime soon, and Islay and Bute are high on my list of places to visit.
February 10th, 2007 at 11:57 pm on the 10th of February, 2007
You’d be most welcolm Though Bute is a lot easier to get to
February 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm on the 11th of February, 2007
Actually I don’t know why I wrote Bute, I meant Jura.
February 11th, 2007 at 9:41 pm on the 11th of February, 2007
Well you have to come to Islay to get to Jura. In fact the School’s catchment covers both Islands
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