GENERAL CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES

  1. Building Big! -- An incredible site from PBS! Learn about how buildings, bridges, dams, domes and tunnels are built. Check out the interactive lab for great Flash© demonstrations and experiments!!
  2. Buildings, Bridges and Tunnels -- An online guide to structure construction from Discovery.com.
  3. Build it and Bust It! -- From the great Thinkquest site:"Here, you will design and test your own structures and share what you learn with others. You can view everyone's design and learn from each other!"

  4. Structures -- From the Franklin Institute, take a tour through several amazing structures and learn how they were designed. Also see this great Structures page.
  5. Construction Design -- A nice illustrated outline of the design of construction systems, with a detailed description of each step. Includes a self-test!
  6. History Channel's Big Dig Page, and an Overview of the Big Dig from PBS!
  7. Smart Structures
  8. Building Implosion
  9. Skyscrapers
  10. Iron and Steel
  11. Empire State Building
  12. Sears Tower
  13. Eiffel Tower
  14. Verrazano Narrows Bridge
  15. English Channel "Chunnel"
  16. The U.S. Construction Industry -- Statistics and analysis of the construction industry from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  17. ScienceNet Construction & Engineering FAQ -- A series of questions and answers on Communications Technology, covering issues such as What is a structure? What is a load? What types of structure are there? Why don't structures fall over? And many more!
  18. Structural Forces -- A summary overview of compression, tension, bending, torsion and shear. Also check out this Strength of Materials site!
  19. NOVA - Superbridge -- Learn about bridge design, and test your knowledge of bridge types!
  20. The Golden Gate Bridge -- Learn how this amazing structure was built, and how it is maintained! Also get an overview of the project from the Museum of San Francisco, and see Bridging the Bay - An Online Exhibit.
  21. Bridge Building - Art and Science -- "More clearly than some other forms of engineering, bridges can be relatively easy to understand and enjoy. Not many bridges, especially the more recent ones, have pointless decoration. Even where surface treatment has been intended, it has sometimes been left out, as in the cases of the Clifton bridge and the mighty George Washington bridge, and the Bayonne bridge. But although structure must be governed by function, one function may be to please people, by finding a good balance between form and function."
  22. Structural Analysis of Complex Bridges -- Detailed technical analyses of complex bridge designs.
  23. All About Bridges -- A nice introductory page on bridge design that covers the following topics: What are the basic bridge types? How are they built? How are they put up?
  24. Geometry of Bridge Construction -- An overview of the four different types of bridges - and some combination styles.

    BRIDGE DISASTERS
  25. Quebec Bridge Disaster Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster Tay Bridge Disaster

  26. Verrazano Narrows Bridge
  27. Brooklyn Bridge

    Buildings and Urban Structures
  28. The History of Skyscrapers -- From the History Channel Online, a look at the world's tallest Skyscrapers and how they were built!
  29. The High-Rise Pages -- Learn about the history of high-rise construction, and just what is the tallest building in the world, anyway? The answer to the "tallest building" question isn't as simple as you may think! Despite some grammatical inconsistencies, this site is quite entertaining and informative!
  30. The Great Building Collection -- From the site: "The Great Buildings Collection is a gateway to architecture from around the world and across history. The Great Buildings Online documents hundreds of buildings and leading architects with 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, plus commentaries, bibliographies, and web links, for famous designers and structures of all kinds."
  31. The Skyscraper Museum -- The online companion site to the Skyscraper Museum in New York City.
  32. New York Underground -- Not all architecture is about building "up"! Check out this site to see some underground design triumphs in the Big Apple!

    Dams
  33. The American Experience - Hoover Dam -- Rising more than 700 feet above the raging waters of the Colorado River, it was called one of the greatest engineering works in history. Learn about this incredible American design feat here! Also check out the US Government's Hoover Dam Info Site!
  34. Cracks and Dams -- From SimScience, "Here you will learn about dams and cracks, engineering, and computer simulation."
  35. Dams -- Find out what it takes to build a dam! From National Geographic's &"Geo Guide."

    Home Construction
  36. How to Build a House -- The whole process - from foundation, to frame, to finished!