Cymraeg
07799 566533 info@wildelements.org.uk
Connecting people to nature, improving lives, opportunities & aspirations


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Get in Touch

Feel free to contact Wild Elements with any bookings, questions, projects, collaborative partnerships or feedback about any of our services via:

Rivendell Building, Bangor University Treborth Botanic Garden, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2RQ

07799 566533

info@wildelements.org.uk

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You are here: STEM, Arts & Outdoor Education > Bridges, Buildings & Botanical Blueprints

Bridges, Buildings and Botanical Blueprints

Did you know architecture is based on nature?

This session aims to build participant knowledge of engineering, buildings and bridge design and physics through studying how the naturally occurring mathematical structure of plants – the Fibonacci Sequence – supports engineering designs and discover the manmade structures that follow Nature’s Botanical Blueprint.

Bridges, Buildings and Botanical Blueprints covers the physics underpinning engineering, engineering diversity, different materials, BATS (beams, arches, trusses, suspensions), structurally sound shapes, bridge and building design, tension, compression, scale models and testing models.

The session incorporates Engineering Habits of Mind (EHoM – systems thinking, adapting, problem-finding, creative problem-solving, visualising and improving). Participants develop a hypothesis, plan, test, take measurements, observe, evaluate results and rebuild a structure.

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Bridges, Buildings and Botanical Blueprints involves:

  • Examining the Fibonacci sequence in plants at Treborth Botanic Garden
  • Using mobile technologies to identify manmade structures built in the Fibonacci Sequence
  • Working in teams to design and build bridges
  • Designing a new glasshouse for Treborth Botanic Garden
  • Building testing models and scale models
  • Observing testing models, evaluating results and rebuilding the structures to scale models
  • Imagine a world without engineering and think critically about what the impact upon their lives and society would be if engineering expertise did not exist
  • Discovering how engineering has improved lives and how engineering could improve lives further

Cross-cutting themes and Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) groups embedded in the session:

  • Maths and numeracy – measurement, calculation
  • Teamworking
  • Problem-solving
  • Critical-thinking
  • IT skills
  • Communication and presentation skills
  • Literacy

All activities within the session can be tailored to requirements. The depth each topic is covered depends on the ages, key stage and abilities of participants, with more complex elements reserved for upper key stages. Please contact us to discuss your requirements for your group.