Distance Learning in the Arts: Social

Bridge Building 101

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge

Jan-Mar 2008

The intersections of engineering and aesthetics and infrastructure and community are explored via the study of the construction of a suspension bridge through photographs, archival renderings, and vintage postcards. The Ben Franklin Bridge (1926), which joins Camden, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA, was the first bridge over the Delaware River (and briefly the longest suspension bridge in the world). "Big Ben" was an engineering marvel that forever changed the economic and transportation infrastructure of the region.

Available for two grade levels:

Grades 3-7
Includes a hands-on activity as part of the session if step-by-step focus is selected.

Grades 8-12
Available with three areas of focus - Choose one for a 45 minute class:

• The Building of the Ben Franklin Bridge in its Social & Historical Concepts


• Step by Step: The Science and Process of Suspension Bridge Construction


• The Art and Aesthetics of the Bridge and its Construction

Grades 3-7 or 8-12