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Roebling and Suspension Bridges: A Thread of Steel
Further Reading


Web Sites

Activity: Suspension Bridge Handout http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/educator/act_suspension_ho.html

This PBS activity provided the basis to the "Building the Brooklyn Bridge" activity in this lesson. The online activity focuses on testing the relative strength of a beam bridge versus a suspension bridge.

HowStuffWorks- "How Bridges Work" http://science.howstuffworks.com/bridge.htm

This article written by engineer Michael Morrissey very clearly breaks down the basic components to "How Bridges Work." He defines basic types of bridges, forces working on bridges, and gives helpful diagrams to illustrate these concepts.

No. 1488: The Roeblings http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1488.htm

This is a transcript from an audio clip delivered by John Lienhard from The University of Houston's College of Engineering. It succinctly describes the feat of building of the Brooklyn Bridge by three Roeblings: John A. Roebling; his son, Washington Roebling; and Washington's wife, Emily Roebling.

Roebling Online History Archive Main Index http://www.inventionfactory.com/history/main.html

This website is a project of the Invention Factory and funded by a New Jersey Council for the Humanities Grant. It is an amazing resource for those interested in learning more about Roebling, the wire company he founded, and the projects they were involved in. It includes both primary and secondary resources. Among their primary source collection are interviews from the people who worked in the wire-rope factory in Trenton and documents written by the Roebling family. "The Story of Roebling" contributed helpful background knowledge to this lesson.

Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct within the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River http://www.nps.gov/upde/historyculture/roeblingbridge.htm

The National Park Service site provides information on the history and restoration of the country's oldest remaining wire-suspension bridge, the Delaware Aqueduct or Roebling Bridge. Included is a section on its builder, John A. Roebling, with a brief biography and helpful timeline of key events in his life.


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