Teaching at the Oak Valley Middle School ASES

Bridges

STEMpathy had the opportunity to bring hands-on engineering to the students at Oak Valley Middle School’s ASES program through an exciting workshop on bridge design and physics! Using popsicle sticks and hot glue, students explored how real-world bridges work and applied their knowledge to create strong structures of their own.

What did we do?

Students began by learning about the basic forces that act on a bridge—compression and tension—and how engineers use different shapes and designs to balance these forces. We introduced real-world examples like the Golden Gate Bridge to help them visualize these concepts in action.

After the lesson, students built their own popsicle stick bridges, applying what they learned to create designs they believed would hold the most weight. At the end of the session, they put their bridges to the test by adding weights (books or small objects) to see how much their creations could support before breaking.

Impacts

This workshop made engineering feel exciting, approachable, and relevant. Here’s how it benefited students:

  1. Real-World Application: Students connected physics concepts to real engineering challenges and tested them through hands-on building.

  2. Structural Understanding: By applying tension and compression theory, students began thinking critically about design and stability.

  3. Iterative Thinking: As some bridges failed and others held strong, students learned the value of testing, analyzing, and improving.

  4. Problem-Solving: From uneven joints to weak spans, students tackled real design problems and found creative solutions.

  5. Teamwork and Communication: Working in small groups helped students develop collaboration skills while sharing ideas and strategies.

  6. STEM Inspiration: Many students walked away proud of their builds—and excited about the possibility of a future in engineering.

Summary

  • Taught bridge physics through compression and tension
  • Students built and tested popsicle stick bridges
  • Connected designs to real structures like the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Fostered teamwork, problem-solving, and design thinking

The Oak Valley ASES students impressed us with their creativity, focus, and determination. We’re excited to continue inspiring future engineers through hands-on STEM education!