In the story of The Gingerbread Man, he gets eaten by a fox who offers to help him cross a river. We’re going to help The Gingerbread Man out by building him a bridge, testing different materials at the same time.
Materials
LEGO
Lolly sticks
Sticks
Straws
Paper
Card
Scales
Anything else you want to test
Method
Build rests for your bridge, we used LEGO, but you could use cardboard or anything else that would work.
Place your materials you want to test on the rests and add some weight.
Add more weight until the bridge breaks.
Observe what happens.
Repeat for your next material.
Things to think about
Make sure you use the same weight to test each bridge.
Each bridge should be roughly the same size to make it a fair test.
Can you record the weight at which each bridge first starts to bend and the weight at which it breaks completely?
Results
We found the lolly sticks were the strongest and cardboard the weakest.
Extension Activities
Can you design a table to record your results?
Can you think of any more materials to test?
Suitable for Early Learning Goal 16
Exploring and using media and materials
They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
Key Stage 1
Everyday Materials
Uses of Everyday Materials
Working Scientifically
Unlockninja
June 26, 2015 at 12:15 pmGreat Art i like this and thanks for posting this…
Sallie
November 18, 2016 at 2:46 amwhere did you get the gingerbread man and is he connected to the lego or how is he standing up?