Learning about bridges can continue after GEMS. It just might be time for a road trip to this cool Colorado resource! Print The Biggest Classroom’s Bridges Road Trip Task, and be on your way to finding out even more about bridges, especially the Royal Gorge Bridge, as you drive!
If you are looking for a fun place to go even during the winter months, consider a trip to an incredible engineering feat at the Royal Gorge Bridge near Canon City, CO!
The views are gorgeous, the math and engineering are impressive, and getting to walk out on a bridge like this is truly something to be treasured by the whole family!
During the summer, this is clearly a destination with loads of tourist amenities nearby. In November, we were delighted to have the bridge nearly to ourselves.
Getting to see the cables that suspend the Royal Gorge Bridge is fascinating, and you can even touch them and get up close to where they anchor 55 feet into the rock wall. Look at all of these cables, individually anchored at each end of the bridge.
Each suspension cable contains 2100 wires! Some of the cables have been updated since the original bridge was built in 1929.
If you’re able to enjoy the view while out on the bridge, it is breathtaking!
This is harder than it sounds for two reasons:
1.) The walkway is made of a total of 1,292 wood planks. You can see the river and canyon 955 feet below through the cracks between planks, which is moderately unnerving for many.
2.) The bridge sways and moves slightly, especially out in the middle and obviously more so on a windy day like this one, with 40 MPH winds. This led to some great discussions about how bridges need to be engineered to move or else they will be destroyed by the forces of nature.
Of course, the kids remembered seeing the video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse in 1940, just four months after it opened. At the Bridges! session of GEMS, we discussed how the bridge clearly was made to withstand some motion. However, the potential for high winds was underestimated. Ultimately, strong wind caused oscillations that lasted for one hour before causing the bridge’s collapse. See the video here.
You can walk out on the Royal Gorge Bridge be comforted knowing that the cables have been reinforced and updated with additional wind tethers since its original construction! Sway as it may, up it will stay!
If you look deep into the canyon 955 feet below, the Arkansas river flows with blue-green water and you can see the narrow gauge train tracks that were put in place in 1880. Originally used to carry passengers and aid in mining silver and gold, the Royal Gorge Railroad still offers passenger rides today.
Old Engine 499 is a narrow gauge engine that still looks out over the bridge. Old Engine 499 worked in the canyon for decades, but retired in the late 1960’s and survived the 2013 wild fire that destroyed the park’s historical buildings, but left the bridge mostly intact.
The Royal Gorge Bridge is closed to traffic, except the park’s tour vehicles. You do have to pay an admission fee to access the bridge, but the price includes walking access to the bridge, a historical video, unlimited play on a 3-story play structure, and aerial gondola rides across the canyon if winds are below 30 MPH.
It made for a very fun and memorable road trip destination for our family, and was the coolest reinforcement of all of our bridge learning at GEMS! Since it is at an elevation of 6,626 ft, it tends to be warmer and less snowy than many of the high-elevation mountain locations nearby. Even in winter with 40 MPH winds when we visited, it was a gorgeous, “warm” day!
You can find more information about visiting the Royal Gorge Bridge here.
If you complete The Biggest Classroom’s Bridges Road Trip Task or visit The Royal Gorge Bridge, we would love to hear about how it goes! Please leave a comment and let us know!