Trust the Truss Bridge
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The goal was to develop a bridge design to help the elderly and disabled cross a fish ladder in a nature preserve.
Supplies
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- balsa wood
- hot glue
- saw
- sandpaper
- ruler
Designing My Model
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- Measured a piece of balsa wood
- Made a V-Shape
- Then made trusses by cutting and gluing balsa wood to fit in the V shape
- Then I copied that basic design 3 times for a total of 4
- I added them on to a floor/base piece
- I added extra support - beams going across the top and middle to make it stronger
- I sanded some of the pieces
Conclusion
In this project, I discovered a lot about the engineering process. Engineering is all about solving problems. I tried to solve the problem of the elderly and disabled crossing the fish ladder. I learned that I like using my hands and designing. Building the trusses was the most challenging part.