About this bridge
I originally designed this interactive bridge for a LEGO® Ideas competition celebrating the wonders of STEM. You can see the original entry here. I was inspired to design and build this model by thinking about how we use STEM to understand the world around us by representing invisible interactions as concepts we can share and teach each other. One of the most fundamental concepts in physics is Newton’s second law of motion: F = ma which teaches us how objects move when a force is applied to it.
We use our understanding of forces everywhere from building bridges to launching rockets. But forces are invisible. In this model of a truss bridge, I have brought to life the forces in a bridge to help give an intuitive understanding of what happens to the materials in these structures.
Each beam of the truss can measure the compression (blue) or tension (red) force it is experiencing, all while using only LEGO® elements! I have used some clever design around two LEGO® TECHNIC springs to create a beam that can visualise its force. The beams can be arranged in almost any way, enabling discovery, understanding, and play at the same time!
Instructions
If you would like to build your own Truss the Forces bridge, I have made the instructions free to download from my Rebrickable page. Just follow this link for the instructions.
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