3DD Day 2

Task 1- Create 3 bridges out of paper in 15 minutes

Task 2- Create a bridge in small groups that allows a toy car to be driven over without falling off

Our bridge allowed the car to be driven across it without falling off because of the barriers that we put on either side. However, it was not very strong and collapsed slightly in the middle when the brick was placed on top. Overall, I feel that our bridge was successful, as we had not previously known that it would have to be strong enough to hold the weight of a brick.

There are a few points that we could have improved on: one being the stands in-between the two tables as these were not very strong or sturdy. Also on the end of the bridge, there was a steep drop down to the table, which caused the car to fly off the end of the bridge, missing the table completely.

What I think was successful about our bridge was the barriers which also acted as ‘frame’ for the structure, keeping it strong and sturdy. Originally the bamboo was going to be on the bottom of the bridge but we found that if it was on to it was both stronger and acted as a barrier. The bamboo was hold in place by elastic bands that were pushed through puncture holes in the cardboard. I volunteered this idea as I thought this would work better than just attaching the bamboo with tape.

We were informed by our tutor on the idea of twisting cello tape to create wires from the table to the stands this worked well to reinforce and steady the bridge.

When we started this task personally, I would rather have just started putting things together and seeing how to amend them as I went along, but my group decided to discuss what our best options were and what were the strongest points of our bridges. Other groups threw themselves in by starting their project straight away and in some cases, theirs were more interesting and innovative than ours.

What we were best on as a group was time management and teamwork; we finished on time and were supportive of other people’s ideas for changing parts of our project.