Build a Self-Supporting Bridge

How to Prepare

Collect the following items before you begin:

• 30 jumbo popsicle sticks (preferably red, orange, yellow and green)
• One piece of cardboard or a sturdy flat surface to use as a place to assemble your popsicle stick bridge
• A few small items to use as weights from around the Club or your home

Build Your Bridge!

Step 1
Choose 30 colourful sticks.
Start by laying out four sticks in a tic tac toe format. Place two yellow sticks horizontally and a green and orange stick vertically across. You will be weaving the coloured sticks from left to right. 

💡Activity Hack! Set aside two yellow sticks to serve  as the footings of our bridge!

Step 2
Add two additional red sticks by weaving them under the green stick and over the orange stick. You may need to hold the orange stick into place!

Step 3
What are you noticing so far? Is your bridge starting to lift off the surface? It’s important to hold the bridge flat while you add new sticks. 

💡Activity Hack! It often helps to start with sliding the new stick in at an angle.

Step 4
Add another orange stick by sliding it underneath the two red sticks. 

Step 5 
Weave two more red sticks under the orange stick and on top of the green stick.

Step 6
Once you have these sticks into place, slowly let go of your bridge and notice what happens…it will raise itself up so that the red sticks make a platform parallel to the ground. 

Do you want to make a bigger bridge?  Repeat the above steps to extend your bridge! 

Step 7
Try placing weights (small items from around the house or Club) on top of your bridge. 

💡How much weight can your bridge hold?
Did you know the bridge is strong when applying a downward force? But, be careful because applying a lateral force (from the sides) or moving it even a little may cause it to topple! 

Bridge Complete! Congratulations! 

Share your bridge with your Club Leaders and friends or your caregivers at home. Display your popsicle stick bridge with pride! Your bridge is a great example of the architectural and engineering skills you’ve used during this activity. 

How It Works

While Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps most famous for the Mona Lisa, he was also a brilliant scientist, mathematician, and inventor. 

Over 500 years ago, Leonardo invented the self supporting bridge. What makes this bridge so special? It’s a bridge that does not rely on external supports such as columns and pillars. Take a look at your own bridge; when it’s first assembled, the sticks are slightly loose and can slide around because of their low weight. 

When a load (such as the weights you placed on your bridge) are applied, the central beam spreads the weight throughout the structure, and the beams become rigid. The force makes the stick connections tighten, therefore increasing the stability of the bridge.