How strong is paper?

Can we make paper stronger? We did an experiment today. We made a bridge using only one piece of construction paper on top of some wooden blocks. After discussing what a penny is, we predicted how many pennies the bridge would hold. Well.... the bridge collapsed when we put the second penny on it!!  It was not very strong at all! So.... how could we make the bridge stronger? We folded the same piece of paper - accordion style, like a fan- and then placed it back on top of the blocks. Guess what? We counted up to 110 pennies - and the bridge was still strong!  Even after Mrs. Grant dumped the rest of the pennies onto the bridge, it was still standing!! WOW!
This led us into a discussion about cardboard, and why is cardboard stronger than paper? One person noted that cardboard has many different tiny little folded papers in it! Good observation!
  


Today was Mrs. Angell's birthday. So we made her a birthday card, headed down to the office, and sang Happy Birthday to our favourite secretary!

  
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