Grass Bridge

View Resource

Read the Fine Print

Author:

WGBH Educational Foundation

Subject:

Science and Technology

Institution Name:

Teachers Domain

Collection:

Teachers' Domain

Grade Level:

Primary, Secondary

Abstract:

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch residents of the Peruvian Andes build a suspension bridge made entirely of grass. The ancient Inca were a textile society and thus skilled in working with natural fibers including alpaca and cotton. Still, it might surprise people today that their solution to crossing the canyons and gorges of their mountainous empire featured another fibrous material: grass. When you consider how they built a simple suspension bridge, you'll realize that not only was this a practical solution, it was also a safe one. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch residents of the Peruvian Andes as they build a traditional and functioning grass bridge — the likes of which enabled the ancient Inca people to flourish for several hundred years. Grades 3-12.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Activities and Labs, Curriculum Standards

Media Format:

Video

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
Content on the Site is made available to users under four levels of non-commercial, educational permitted uses as described below. You may not remove, copy, alter, reproduce, modify, create derivative works of, republish, post, publicly perform, publicly display, broadcast, transmit, distribute or commercially exploit, in whole or in part, the Content or this Site, except as expressly permitted.

Copyright Holder:

Copyright 2006, 1997 WGBH Educational Foundation. All Rights Reserved. A NOVA Production by the WGBH/Boston Science Unit and BBC-TV. Original artwork courtesy of Jack Foley.