Last week the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) bridge came to St Francis Junior School in Newton Aycliffe.
Throughout the week the classes took it in turns to take part in bridge building lead by volunteers who are civil engineers. The week started with group 1 who, not surprisingly, thought that the bridge was made out of ice!
All the children were asking “When is it our turn?” as they knew how much fun they were going to have! During their sessions the children were given the opportunity to dress in safety equipment; gloves, protective helmets, high visibility jackets and safety goggles to ensure they didn’t get hurt.
After that they worked in teams to build their own bridge, this involved fixing nuts and bolts, rotating cables and taking on real jobs like deckers, pinners and scaffolders! All of the children and adults involved in the building of the ICE bridge, including parents and carers who came in to help, thoroughly enjoyed the experience, a year 4 child explained “It was a great opportunity to work with real engineers and one that I will not forget!” Everybody hopes that they have the chance to do it again in the future!
