GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE HOSTS AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE OUTDOOR EXHIBITION

In 2009, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a permanent outdoor exhibition to be located at the south side of the Bridge to provide engineering insights about this famous structure to the general public. The Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE) was the lead developer of the proposal on behalf of the Bridge District and functions as project manager, heading a talented team of subawardees who will carry out several tasks: master plan the area where the exhibition space will be, allowing for a future museum; design and fabricate exhibits; study visitors; hold an international conference on the theme of using public works infrastructure as learning resources about science and engineering; present the history of the Bridge; investigate the variety of research conducted on the Bridge since its early design and analysis phase in the 1930s; and develop web content to complement the physical exhibits for the District’s 100,000 hit-per-day website.

A very large (over 80 feet long) scale model of the Bridge, will be the centerpiece of the outdoor exhibits. Around this “table of contents” will be individual exhibits explaining aspects of the Bridge – towers, main cables, lower lateral bracing added to increase torsional resistance under wind loading, vertical suspender ropes, its color and painting, etc.

In the words of the General Manager of the Bridge, Denis Mulligan, “Millions of people a year come to the Bridge, in tour buses, by car, on foot, or by bike. They come as sightseers, but will leave with the experience of having their curiosity piqued by innovative science and engineering exhibits.”

The National Science Foundation Program Director for the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings, Dr. Al DeSena, commented in the press release for the project announcement, “The Golden Gate Bridge proposal represents an exemplary project that went through the rigorous NSF merit review process in competition with several hundred submissions in 2009. The project is innovative, involves a strong collaborative effort, and is expected to have an impressive impact on the learning of science and engineering by the public. We are pleased that the Bridge, an international icon visited by millions, will come alive with interactive educational exhibits.”

EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR SPRING 2012

To accomodate enhancements being made to the visitor area in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the outdoor exhibition will be temporarily displayed in an alternate site layout.

Due to space limitations, some of the large scale exhibits will not be on display for this initial public exhibition.

Currently planned for Spring 2012 are exhibits on:
- Bridge Towers
- Seismic Retrofit of Lattice Strut
- Foghorns
- Deck Torsional Resistance
- Tower Height vs. Cable Tension
- The History and the People who designed and built the Bridge
- Aesthetics of The Bridge (Art Deco)
- How a Suspension Bridge Works
- Tactile (Braille) Model of the Bridge
- The Way The Bridge Vibrates
- LIFETILES - animated mural of the construction of the Bridge
- Color of the Bridge, Painting, and Corrosion
- Wind Pressure
- Deck Aerodynamics
- Weather Station