Ruby-Rae, Bethel and Nadia’s Balsa Wood Bridge

Washington Latin Public Charter School

Background: 5200 2nd St NW, Washington, DC 20011
We used course domain number
four, which was to create and design Data:
models. We did this by looking up types of Our bridge weighed 26.5 grams and held 22 pounds, with a
bridges and combining them to make a strength to weight ratio of 0.83
Design process :
really strong one. We primarily used a We started building our base, and then the Our final design of the Bridge
youtube video1 to base our design off of. sides, and then the top. We added reinforcements
by laminating some of the wood on the top and
bottom. We worked on the bridge out of class and
Research objective:
in tutorial, and constantly checked on our bridge.
We are trying to create a bridge that can hold up
to multiple times its own weight using balsa wood
and wood glue. We hope to be able to receive a
passing grade on the project while successfully
carrying the process out.
Bridge in progress of building
Materials: Broken Bridge
● Balsa wood
● Wood glue
Tools
● Wood knife
● Water bottle
● Markers
● Wax paper
● Board

Breaking Bridge video: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-KDXL5uxXvC7zbiPS6Zi7M-UI8i_U5L8

Design:
●
Conclusion:
● In the end we did reach our goal of getting at leats a
B.
● Our design was i bit changed because we made the
bridge longer and laminated some parts but other
then that we still followed our original design
Our Schematic Design
Acknowledgments/ references:
1. Lyles School of Civil Engineering - Purdue University. (2020, January 21). Balsa Wood
Bridge Tips and Tricks [Purdue ASCE Bridge Bust captains and Lyles School of Civil
Engineering students Mackenzie Henson and Lilly Schmidt go over some tips and
tricks when building your own balsa wood bridge. The break demonstration, however,
does not go exactly as planned.]. Lyles School of Civil Engineering - Purdue
University. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbOlZC94YUQ