In Year 5, for Design and Technology we have been looking at the topic, ‘Bridges’.
Did you know that there are many types of bridges?
The first bridge we learnt about is called the beam bridge.
This is one of the simplest and most common bridge types.
They have a main horizontal beam and vertical supports at either end.
A well-known beam bridge is Hangzhou Bay Bridge in China.
At the time the bridge was opened, it was the world’s largest sea crossing.
Then we have an arch bridge.
This is like a beam bridge but with curved support underneath the main horizontal beam.
A well-known arch bridge is Westminster Bridge.
It is a road and foot traffic bridge that crosses over the River Thames in London.
It links Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
The next bridge we looked at was a suspension bridge.
This is a bridge with a roadway suspended by cables over towers and are anchored at each end.
A well-known suspension bridge can be found in Bristol in the UK.
It is called the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The Bridge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.
There is a £1 contactless toll for motor vehicles and crossing is free of charge to pedestrians and cyclists.
Finally, we looked at truss bridges.
A bridge that is built from a series of triangular beams.
A famous truss bridge is Forth Bridge in Scotland.
In 2016, it was voted as Scotland’s greatest man-made wonder.
We also had a go at creating our own truss bridges using spaghetti and masking tape.
At the moment we are making bridges using wood.