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March 1, 2005. Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Duane Collicott of Bricks for Brains presented his “The Science of Bridges”
exhibit at COSI Toledo, a children’s science museum in Toledo, Ohio, during the
weekend of February 25-27 as part of the museum’s “Zoom Into Engineering!” week.
The exhibit was visited by hundreds of museum attendees. Children, as well as
adults, enjoyed assembling truss, arch, and other types of bridges by connecting
LEGO® bricks in the right combinations. Mr. Collicott provided instructions for
four different types of bridges, but some visitors took to designing their own
bridges using the many pieces provided.
Once completed, visitors were allowed to put their creations to the test by
hanging weights from them. These were high-stress moments, in more ways than
one, as they watched their bridges creak and bend, wondering as each weight was
added if it would be “the last straw.” Many were amazed at the amount of weight
they would hold, and gained a true understanding of why these designs work.
Friday’s visitors were mostly middle school classes on field trips. Some of the
kids from these trips enjoyed it enough to persuade their parents to bring them
back again on Saturday or Sunday. One group of visitors on Saturday, a
collection Boy Scouts working toward their Engineering Merit Badge, stayed at
the exhibit for more than two hours. They were treated to an impromptu
computer-based presentation by Mr. Collicott (an Eagle Scout himself), which
included an interactive bridge simulation program that showed successful and
unsuccessful bridge designs, and what forces were involved in each.
COSI Toledo was very pleased with the exhibit and has asked Mr. Collicott to
return again. A return visit is tentatively scheduled for Autumn, 2005, when
museum visitors will help build a scale model of the Maumee River Crossing
bridge, a cable-stayed bridge currently under construction in Toledo, Ohio. The
model will be made from 260 individual segments and will be more than thirteen
feet long and four feet tall when completed.
Pictures from this weekend’s event can be seen at the Bricks for Brains Web
site, www.BricksForBrains.org.
About Bricks for Brains.
Bricks for Brains is the educational work of Duane Collicott, providing learning
experiences in engineering, science and history through hands-on LEGO® building
exhibits. The Web site for Bricks for Brains is www.BricksForBrains.org. For
bookings or other information, contact Duane Collicott at
duane@BricksForBrains.org.
LEGO is a registered trademark of the LEGO Company, which does not sponsor,
authorize, or endorse Bricks for Brains.
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