Portland Bridges

Hello 3rd Grade Families!

PORTLAND BRIDGE MODEL 
DUE WEDNESDAY!

Please arrange for the safe transportation of your child’s bridge model to school this Wednesday.  Tables will be set up outside our classroom and you are invited to bring them up as soon as you arrive to school.  The building is open early so bring them in whenever is convenient for you.

The first bridge presentations will begin Wednesday afternoon.  The presentation part is pretty casual.  I’ve asked the students to be able to discuss the materials and process they went through to build the bridge.  We are currently sharing our research on each of the Portland Bridges, so they are not expected to present a report on the details of the “real” bridge, just be able to communicate the details of their bridge, materials, and construction.  I hope you had fun bonding with your child over the construction of an iconic Portland Bridge.  

                 PORTLAND BRIDGE FIELD TRIP

                                            

We had a great time on our Bridge Tour on Thursday!  Our first stop was the ODOT command center where we viewed a small exhibit dedicated to the Portland Bridges. 

 Here, our tour guide, Nathan Hoover, took a moment to show us some models of the Portland Bridges that are on display, as well as introduce the basic vocabulary that he would be using throughout the tour.  As you can guess, our class had a solid grasp on the vocabulary in question—the 3 types of bridge structures (beam, arch, suspension), the 3 movable bridge types (swing span, vertical lift, bascule). The students had several opportunities to show off their knowledge of bridges!
When Nathan was finished with his introduction, we had a few minutes to look around the exhibit which showcased early bridge models and artifacts.

Next, we began our walking tour of the Portland Bridges as we left ODOT and walked south to the Burnside Bridge.

Here we had the opportunity to see this bascule bridge in action.  

Next, we walked North along the east side of the river where we had a view of the Steel Bridge, the Broadway Bridge, and the Fremont Bridge in the distance. 

Here the class learned about it’s double-vertical lift span design and how it is the only one like it in the world, where one lift can move independently from the other.  

 While we were walking, we were hoping to see it open as two sailboats waited to pass.

Meanwhile, the Broadway Bridge was doing a test opening of it's Bascule Truss, which you can see in the distance.  

 We really lucked out seeing some of Portland's movable bridges in action!

  As we approached the Steel Bridge, it finally opened to let a couple of sailboats pass.

After crossing the Steel Bridge and catching the Max train South, we disembarked the train on the east side of the Tilikum Crossing.  

Our first look at this magnificent new bridge was from underneath.  Here Nathan shared with us some of the less obvious features of this bridge. 

We learned about the whisper dish located beneath both ends of the bridge.  This installation allows your whisper to be heard from across the river.

Then it was time to head up to the deck of this beautiful suspension bridge. 

Once again, the Portland Bridge Tour provided a high point of our year!  Thank you Nathan, for being such a kind, knowledgeable tour guide.  

Our Portland Unit continues this week in the classroom as we…

-Share our research on each Portland Bridge

-Complete Portland Bridge Art

-Complete Portland Downtown Skyline Art 

-Present our Portland Bridges to the class (June 7-9)