3rd Grade Building Engineers

Third grade has embarked upon their biggest project of the school year in science class. They are digging deep into the field of structural engineering as they learn some of the basic principals  of creating structurally sound buildings and simple machines.

The students began their engineering unit by conducting research about engineers known for building some of the most well know bridges and tunnels in the world.  

After researching the engineers, the third graders built bridges in the likeness of the structures that the engineers they had researched built. The students built their bridges from plastic straws and wooden popsicle sticks. Once they were finished building they measured the structural soundness of their bridges by placing gram weights and cups of pennies on them to see how much load they were able to sustain. Once the bridges reached their maximum loads and toppled, the students used scales to weigh how many grams their bridges were able to hold. 

One of the highlights during this engineering unit was when a structural engineer who is also one of the third grade parents Magurite Jeannesone-Pinto visited with the third grade classes. She brought actual technical drawings with her and explained how they were once made as blueprints but now most  are created on computers. She also spoke about a few of the projects she has worked on. Margurite then led the students through a fun building activity during which they created structures using gum drops and toothpicks.

The classes are currently engulfed in the building phase of creating their inventions for this year's Invention Convention that will be held at Plymouth Meeting Friends School on Tuesday April 16th.