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Pasta Bridge: The Penne Express

Build a bridge from penne pasta and glue, then test how much weight it can hold compared with its own mass.

Grade 4BuildScience OlympiadEngineeringStructuresEngineeringMeasurementIntermediate1 to 2 hr7 materialsAdult supervision required

What you'll learn

  • Explain how triangles make a structure stronger
  • Test a bridge by adding load gradually
  • Calculate a strength to mass ratio

Objective

Build a pasta bridge that spans a gap, test how much load it carries, and compute how well it uses its materials.

STEM concepts

Trusses and trianglesCompression and tensionLoadEfficiency
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Materials and safety
Step-by-step instructions
Prediction, test sheet and results
Why does it work, challenge and project report

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