LEGOs and Structure Engineering

Article Links: 

• http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/5-things-lego-blocks-teach-structural-engineering.htm#page=0
• http://archive.today.uci.edu/Features/profile_detail.asp?key=114

I've always loved to play with LEGOs ever since I was a kid (I still am a kid). Whenever I would build a LEGO Star Wars space ship, I would always crash it on my other LEGO buildings, recreating an action scene from some movie or video game. However when I read this article, I found that there is a more meaningful purpose to LEGOs than just for my own amusement.

LEGOs not only are used to build LEGO buildings, but can also be used to simulate real buildings. Conveniently, my senior topic, structure engineering, can relate to this. There are many examples in this article that taught me more about structure engineering. For example, if I wanted to measure static loading, weight on a non-moving structure, I would build a bridge (out of LEGOs) and use a toy car to cross over the bridge. If my bridge seems unstable, I can add more LEGOs to reinforce the bridge and make it sturdier. In this example, it not only shows the principle of static loading, but also on the principle of bracing. In real life situations, engineers use beams and columns to reinforce structures. LEGOs are a good representation of beams and columns. Another LEGO example relating to structure engineering is the concept of space. If I wanted to build a LEGO city, I have to consider not only the amount of people inside my city, but also the proximity of the buildings in my city. Similarly, structure engineers also consider these same factors for purposes such as earthquake incidents.

So do people really use LEGOs to simulate buildings? Yes, the article explains that there are competitions in the world where competitors create LEGO experiments to see how earthquakes affect buildings. In fact, as I was researching more, universities even go out to kids and use LEGOs to spark the kids' interests in civil engineering. I wouldn't have thought of using LEGOs to teach myself about structure engineering. It just shows that even my childhood toys can teach me something new.