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What makes a structure stand up? Why doesn't it fall down? What makes one structure stronger or flimsier than another one? What about the structure of our bodies? How come WE don't just fall down every time we try to walk? This pathway looks at some of the ways in which some objects stay put, or stay in one piece!
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Can't find an exhibit or have a
question? Ask an explainer
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Catenary
Arch
Read and Do:
Does the completed arch seem
strong or stable to you?
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More Experiments:
What happens if you don't apply
your force evenly (like pushing the arch from the side)?
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Voussoir Arch Bridge
(Hint: Place the wooden supports
underneath first, then build the bridge on top. Now pull out the
blocks, and cross the bridge!) 
Read and Do:
What is holding you up? Why don't
the blocks fall down?
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More Experiments:
When is the bridge easier to topple, with or without someone standing on it?
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What effect does a sideways motion
have on the bridge while you're standing on it?
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Bridge Beams
Read
and Do:
Which beam supports your weight
better?
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Why do you think one is stronger?
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More Experiments:
Which part of each beam seems to
give the most support, the ends or the middle?
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Draw what happens when someone stands in the middle of a beam.
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Draw what happens when someone stands near the end of a beam.
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Bone Stress
Read and Do:
Look at the shape of the
bone.
Where do you think lies its
greatest strength? (draw or write your anwser)
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More Experiments:
Where are arm and leg bones most likely to break? Why?(draw or write your anwser)
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Bones grow along stress lines, this means that they grow as we need them, and they grow as strong as we need them.
Have you ever broken a bone?
Briefly describe the experience.
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Take It From the Top
Try
to make the top block stick out beyond the length of the bottom
block. GRAPHIC
Read and Do:
Is it easier with the small blocks or the large blocks?
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Balance the Stick
Notice that you can slide the
weight up and down.
Read and Do:
When is the stick easier to
balance, with the weight high or the weight low?
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Center of Gravity
"Friction" is how a car starts to move, and how a car stops moving...
Starting with an edge from each
hand under each end of the cane, slowly bring your two hands
together. Watch closely the points where your hands touch the
cane.
Read and Do:
Do your hands move smoothly
together, or with stops and starts?
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When your hands come together, are
you balancing the stick?
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More Experiments:
What do you think makes one hand
stop while the other keeps moving?
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Try it with two people (using one hand each).
What happens?
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