What Do Civil Engineers
Actually Do?
Buckle up — you're about to find out.
It's way cooler than it sounds.
BRIDGES! 🌉
From a log over a stream to the Golden Gate — civil engineers figure out how to get you safely from one side to the other.
The Golden Gate Bridge
is INCREDIBLY wiry
ROADS everywhere! 🛣️
The US alone has over 4 million miles of roads. Laid end to end, that's enough to travel to the Moon and back — 8 times.
SKYSCRAPERS! 🏙️
The Burj Khalifa is 828 meters tall — roughly 200 school buses stacked end to end. Civil engineers had to make sure the wind wouldn't tip it over.
Clean water for 8 billion people 💧
Turn on your tap — that's civil engineering in action. Engineers design the whole journey water takes, from a river all the way to your faucet.
The Great
Leaning Tower Blunder
Construction started in 1173 AD. The ground on one side was too soft — and nobody checked first! It started leaning almost immediately.
GIANT DAMS! 🏔️
Hoover Dam is as tall as a 60-story building and holds back an entire lake. The engineers who designed it calculated forces no one had ever dealt with before.
...and SO MUCH MORE
Seawalls, harbours, canals, subways, sewers — if people use it outside, a civil engineer was probably involved.
How tall is Hoover Dam?
Take a guess!
🌉 Design Your Dream Bridge
Your teacher will ask the class to draw the most creative bridge they can imagine. Use the tools below — then print your design!
Bridge Hunters
Your teacher will ask you to find 3 photos of real bridges in your city online. For each one, figure out: does it carry people walking, cars, or both? Fill in what you find below, then show your teacher when you're done.
Bring your bridge
to life in Scratch!
Follow the video walkthrough to build an animated poster of your dream bridge. Scratch is free, runs in your browser, and no download is needed.
Join Scratch — It's FreeAlready have an account? Open Scratch →