Bridge Building

Have you mastered West Point Bridge Builder?  Want a new challenge that is really fun?  Try Cargo Bridge!

Looking for another fun bridge building game?  Try BridgeCraft!

Can you Build the Bridge and get the train across safely?

More Than a Tower?

Who was Gustave Eiffel?  We all know that he designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris (pictured above), but did you know that he also designed many other bridges and structures throughout the world?

Eiffel is credited with designing over 50 of the world's greatest bridges, churches, towers, monuments, and other structures.  Some of his most notable works are the Eiffel Bridge in Caminha, Portugal (pictured above), the Truong Tien Bridge in Vietnam (pictured below), and the inside of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

The Statue of Liberty (pictured above) was a gift from France to the United States. Eiffel's design for the interior structural elements of the statue allowed for the statue to become a reality. The statue showed the friendship and respect that was shared between France and the United States. The Statue of Liberty quickly became a national symbol of freedom in the United States and gave citizens a sense of pride. The statue became a great tourist attraction and brought many people to New York, boosting the economy.

Eiffel also was involved in the French effort to build the Panama Canal.  His elevated, lock-based canal design was chosen.  However, the project was mismanaged and was never realized.  The American effort to construct the Panama Canal used new lock designs.

This is a picture of the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.

Before Eiffel's death in 1923, he researched and developed new ideas through practical use of the Eiffel Tower.  The tower enabled him to make advancements in aerodynamics, meteorology, and radio-broadcasting.  He built a wind tunnel at the base of the tower for his aerodynamic research, had meteorological equipment placed in various locations on the tower, and suggested to the military to have radio equipment installed on the top of the tower.  Within the following years the tower would continue to serve as a permanent radio tower and eventually used for television broadcasting.

Tallest Towers

Empire State Building - New York, NewYork

What is the first building that comes to mind when someone asks you what the tallest building in the world is? Most people would say the Empire State Building. Actually, it was the tallest building in the world from 1931-1972 and is currently the 15th tallest building in the world at 1,250 feet.

When you build your "tallest towers" you have to account for compression, tension, gravity, and other forces, while also considering how best to use all of your materials.  These are the same principles that engineers have to think about when building a real skyscraper.  Here is a list of some of the tallest structures in the world. 

Burj Khalifa - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

At 2,717 feet, The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.

The CN Tower - Toronto, Canada

The CN Tower is the tallest concrete tower in the world.  CN stands for Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower.  The 1,815 foot tall building is a signature icon of Toronto's skyline.

The Willis Tower - Chicago, Illinois

At 1,451 feet tall, the Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States and the 7th tallest building in the world.

The Petronas Towers -  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

At 1,483 feet tall, the Petronas Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world.  They are the 5th tallest structure in the world.

The Gateway Arch - St. Louis, Missouri

The Gateway Arch stands 630 feet tall and is the tallest monument in the world.  Constructed in 1967, the Arch has come to symbolize St. Louis as a "Gateway" between the east and western United States.

Kingda Ka - Jackson, New Jersey

Located at Six Flags amusement park, the Kingda Ka reaches 456 feet in the sky making it the tallest roller coaster in the world.  It also is the fastest roller coaster in the world with a top speed of 128 mph.  It reaches its top speed in 3.5 seconds. 

1.  Take a look at the list and the find them in Google Earth.  Then put a push pin on each of the buildings.
2.  With Google Earth you see pictures of the outside of these buildings.  Click here to get a tour of the inside of some of the tallest buildings in the world.

3..  In your application menu, click on the Career and Technology Education tab, then try to build a bridge using the West Point Bridge Builder. 

4.  Want a challenge?  I've never seen anyone complete a bridge that works using this Bridge Builder program.
Update (5/3/10): Michael M. just became the first student to ever beat it.  Who's next?
Update (5/7/10): Brooks G. was the 2nd person to beat it.  Anyone else?

Now let's test out more of your tower building skills...

Try Huje Tower or Huje Tower 2 (pictured above) or Moonlights (pictured below)

Create a Graph

We've used Excel to make spreadsheets and graphs.  Want another easy way to make a quick graph.  Try using Create a Graph.  These online graphs can be embedded into a blog, website, or saved as a JPEG for use in a powerpoint or word document.

Click here to start using Create a Graph

Honda Cog - The Ultimate Rube!

Check out this awesome commercial called "The Honda Cog!"

Don't think it was possible?  Click here to see the commercial explained by Snopes.

1. How do you think Rube Goldberg's cartoons influenced the making of this commercial?
2. Why do you think Honda would spend all that time and money to make a commercial like this?
3. Why do you think they never aired it in the United States?

Rube Goldberg

Who is Rube Goldberg?

Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author.

Reuben Lucius Goldberg (Rube Goldberg) was born in San Francisco. His father, a practical man, insisted he go to college to become an engineer. After graduating from University of California Berkeley, Rube went to work as an engineer with the City of San Francisco Water and Sewers Department.

He continued drawing, and after six months convinced his father that he had to work as an artist. He soon got a job as an office boy in the sports department of a San Francisco newspaper. He kept submitting drawings and cartoons to his editor, until he was finally published. An

outstanding success, he moved from San Francisco to New York drawing daily cartoons for the Evening Mail. A founding member of the National Cartoonist Society, a political cartoonist and a Pulitzer Prize winner, Rube was a beloved national figure as well as an often-quoted radio and television personality during his sixty-year professional career.

Through his "INVENTIONS", Rube Goldberg discovered difficult ways to achieve easy results. His cartoons were, as he said, symbols of man's capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimal results. Rube believed that there were two ways to do things: the simple way and the hard way, and that a surprisingly number of people preferred doing things the hard way.

What is a Rube Goldberg Invention?

A Rube Goldberg contraption takes a simple task and makes it extraordinarily complicated.  They often included an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups, and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles, and live animals. He had solutions for How To Get The Cotton Out Of An Aspirin Bottle, imagined a Self-Operating Napkin, and created a Simple Alarm Clock – to name just a few of his hilariously depicted drawings.

Creme That Egg!

What is a Rube-toon?

A Rube-toon is a cartoon drawing of a Rube Goldberg contraption.  Rube Goldberg used these comics to poke fun at people who choose to do things the hard way by taking something simple and making it complex.  They are similar to political cartoons in this way.

This is a Rube Goldberg style cartoon or "Rube-toon." See if you can follow the steps.

I have recently seen clips from "Robots" and the opening scene from "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit" that are clearly influenced by Rube Goldberg and his cartoons. Both sequences are pretty cool. For those of you who are closer to my age, you might remember Rube influenced sequences from "Back to the Future," "Indiana Jones," or the breakfast machine from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure."

Can you name a movie that has a Rube Goldberg style machine in it?

Can you make the changes necessary to help fix the Rube Goldberg-style machine in Goldburger to Go? (pictured below) 

Try completing all 30 levels of Dynamic Systems. (pictured below)

Do you want another Rube Goldberg challenge?  Try Dynamic Systems 2.  (pictured below)

 

Try to build science-related contraptions in Power Play. (pictured below)

Want another fun Rube-Goldberg style challenge?  Try to create contraptions using the Magic Pen. (pictured below)

Have you mastered Magic Pen?  Try Magic Pen 2. (pictured below)

Do you think you can create The Successful Experiment? (pictured below)

Try a Rube Goldberg style mouse trap game with Tom's Trap-O-Matic. (pictured below)

Did you know that Phineas and Ferb like Rube Goldberg contraptions?  Well, it's true.  You can check it out for yourself by playing their Ultimate Chain Reaction! (pictured below)

Even More Rube!

Rube Goldberg Machine on Mythbusters

(Holiday Edition)

A different look at the Mythbusters Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube That Goes Through The Whole House!

Rube Goldberg With Lots Of Fire!

A Computer Animated Rube

Pool Table Rube Goldberg

Amazing Rube Goldberg-style Music Video

Nintendo Rube Goldberg

Can you name all 6 games in the Nintendo Rube Goldberg video?  I used to own each of these games for my NES in the 1980's.  I'll give a pawllar to any student who can name them correctly.

Check Out These Rube-toons Made by Mr. Haines' Students

by Henry R.

by Max T.




by Drew C.

Do you have "the knack?"

Compound Machines

Compound Machines

A compound machine consists of two or more simple machines put together.  In fact, most machines are compound machines.  Their mechanical advantage is far greater, so compound machines can do more difficult jobs than simple machines alone.  Some examples are a bicycle and a pair of scissors.

  

Click here to go to the Robot's tool shed to learn more about compound machines.

Click here to help the Robot solve the Odd Machine (pictured below).

Have you ever built a Fantastic Contraption before?  Only an expert can beat all 21 levels (without cheating)of this fun game that uses compound machines.

Are you ready for the next challenge?  Try Fantastic Contraption 2 (pictured above) or Fantastic Contraption: Prius Edition (pictured below).

Are you wishing for another game that is similar to Fantastic Contraption?  Try Imagicle! (pictured below)

Did you know that Rollercoasters are compound machines?

Can you beat all 4 levels in Roller Coaster Designer?