How to Build a Sugar Cube Bridge
Sugar can be formed into a multitude of shapes, such as sugar skulls for Día de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday that honors deceased loved ones. Sugar cubes are a classic favorite with children for their sweet taste and entertaining shape. The cubes have been used to create igloos and pyramids, but can also serve as fantastic building blocks for making homemade, model bridges. You just need a strong bonding agent to keep the structure intact.
Instructions
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1
Prepare a base for the bridge. Cut out a side from a cardboard box to serve as a flat, solid surface. Glue colorful pieces of construction paper onto the cardboard. Blue construction paper will create the effect of water, and gray will create the effect of pavement. Cover all of the cardboard.
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2
Construct six sugar cube anchor pillars for the bridge, each measuring about 4 or 5 inches tall. Place a pea-sized amount of school glue onto one side of a sugar cube. Press the glued surface onto the side of a second sugar cube and hold together for a few seconds to allow to bond. Place glue along one long edge of the two bonded sugar cubes. Place two sugar cubes along the long, glued side. You should now have four sugar cubes glued together, creating a flat, even square.
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3
Glue four sugar cubes on top of the base you created in Step 2. Add three more layers of four sugar cubes each to create a small tower, measuring five sugar cubes tall. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to create six anchor pillars for the bridge.
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4
Build the main body of the bridge. Glue four sugar cubes together in a long line to create a long, straight shape. Repeat this step to create about 20 sugar cube "sticks." Allow all of these components to dry completely.
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5
Take one of the sugar cube sticks from Step 4 and place an even layer of glue along one long side of the stick. Place the long side of a second sugar cube stick to the glued surface and allow to bond. Repeat with the remaining sugar cube sticks to create a long, flat rectangular surface. This structure will be the main body of the bridge. Allow this component to dry completely.
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6
Lay the main body of the bridge on a flat, even surface. Glue the anchor pillars into place. Glue one pillar onto each of the four corners of the main bridge. Glue the two remaining pillars on the center of each long side of the main bridge body to provide stability. Allow the structure to dry completely, upside down.
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7
Place a pea-sized amount of school glue onto the bottom of each anchor pillar. Turn the bridge over and press down onto the base you prepared in Step 1. Allow the bridge to dry into place.
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Tips & Warnings
Make variations to create taller anchor pillars or to create steps on the body of the bridge.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
