Description

Can five 16-inch dowels, ten 2-foot long pieces of wood, and 2 rubber bands (with all these pieces totaling to 5 pounds) be used to build a bridge which spans 5 feet and can carry 60 pounds? You bet. . .Leonardo Da Vinci's bridge can do it! And this kit allows you to build this special bridge all yourself! Once you've caught the principle behind it, who knows what you'll build! Leonardo Da Vinci invented this bridge between1485 and 1487 for his patron Cesar Borgia. Cesar was looking for a light and strong bridge that his troops could deploy quickly -- one that required no wood-working expertise or knowledge. Da Vinci's bridge fit the bill perfectly. It has only 2 unique parts and is completely self-supporting. Unlike this kit, Da Vinci's original design requires no fasteners. Instead, the beams have notches cut in them to suppress lateral forces. For simplicity, this kit does not include notches, but instead, uses rubber bands as fasteners. Using rubber bands has the added benefit of allowing students to see how force is transferred in the bridge. The rubber bands stretch as weight is applied, showing how gravitational forces are transformed into lateral forces.