Students in Lower 4 enjoyed a materials science event in which they were challenged to design and build a bridge out of chocolate. The lesson began by looking at the Titanic and learning about one of the reasons why it sank; it was made using rivets which became brittle when in the icy cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. When the ship hit the iceberg, it broke so easily because the rivets were brittle as a result of poor-quality iron and super cold conditions. The girls then looked at modern container ships which are enormous structures, and they were shown how they are welded together because of the advantages that this construction method offers over rivets.
All of this information was then linked to their workshop challenge: to weld [without eating the materials first] a bridge from small pieces of chocolate to form one larger structure, with the aim of perfecting a robust bridge. The bridges will be strength tested to destruction in their forthcoming Physics lessons and the one which holds the most mass will be declared the winner!
Thanks go to Mr Morris, Mr Kirtland and the design team for organising such a delicious workshop.
