EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

#ADOTKids: Get a different point of view using our Zoom video backgrounds. We'll give you views via our drone, take you an Arizona snowstorm and to a construction zone. They're free to download for your next Zoom call:https://t.co/lO2NiLfrEj#AZTogether pic.twitter.com/ttauo8KPMp

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) April 28, 2020

After staying at home for weeks, do your kids need a different point of view? Perhaps ADOT's new video Zoom backgrounds can help. Kids can take their Zoom friends on virtual trips other parts of the state, share impressive landscapes and highlight some big equipment at work. Some of the views from our drone are so beautiful we have a feeling adults may want to snag them too! 

We recently offered virtual Zoom photo backgrounds for aspiring engineers to use during a classroom meeting or online chat with friends. With this week's first installment of ADOT Kids video backgrounds, you'll see our snow blaster at work along with some amazing Arizona vistas. We'll also take you to Canyon Lake and scenic State Route 88 east of the Valley and a highway where a very wide load is passing. The Twitter video embedded at right plays all of the backgrounds.

Our last blog post had some tips on using Zoom virtual backgrounds. Now we have a few more on how to use video backgrounds. The Zoom website also has some good tips. 

Here's how to download our backgrounds.

1. Click on an image to see the video you want to use.
2. Once you get to our Vimeo site, scroll down past the video and look for the "Download" button. It will be at the bottom right of the page.
3. Download the video and save to your computer.
4. Then, when you start your next Zoom session, you can upload your virtual Zoom video as your background.

Reminder for kids: It's important to check with your teacher first if you want to use these backgrounds during class. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

As part of a physics class I took in high school, we had to build a bridge that would support at least one pound. The only catch? We had to build it using only use two materials: toothpicks and glue.

That may sound hard at first, but its actually an incredibly fun and hands-on way to learn some practical engineering skills.

If you don't know where to start, you can find tips on how to make a sturdy bridge in this helpful video. Like it says, toothpicks and glue are the norm, but you can use something like popsicle sticks, with clay or styrofoam to hold everything together.

With a little patience, and a lot of triangles, you can replicate a truss bridge. You can find several examples of truss bridges around the state, including some that have been there for more than a century, like the historic Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge in Yuma (shown at right).

Bridges are an important part of the state's highway infrastructure. As we told you about last year, there are more than 4,800 of them helping driver gets over rivers, canyons and other low places, with the longest being a mile long. You can also dive more into the math, science and engineering that goes into building highway bridges in another blog post we did.

It may seem difficult at first, but keep trying. Once you are done, go ahead and test it out! The bridge I built in high school held more than 2 pounds without breaking a sweat. I used a lot of triangles. 

This is a good way to advance your knowledge of bridge-building after completing this week's ADOT Kids activity on designing bridges. We'll post all of the colorings sent to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29. We'll even post a picture of your toothpick bridge. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on.

By Mary Currie / ADOT Communications

We've been encouraged by all the kids who want to Keep it Grand and have participated in our art challenge! Your work encouraging others to avoid littering has been great. Litter is unsightly and not good for our environment. It's also very expensive to pick up. So it's really important for us all to do our part in keeping Arizona beautiful. 

Besides amazing works of art, we also received questions, like this one from 12-year-old Rohini​:

​How much litter is on our highways?

W​e checked with our maintenance crews and l​ast year ​in the Phoenix area alone, they collected more than 630 tons of litter. That's about the weight of 16 ​gray ​whales​!​

This question came in from 8-year-old Daniel of Prescott Valley:

Why do people litter the highways?

We don't know why people litter, but we do know that all types of litter are collected by Adopt a Highway volunteers along Arizona's highways. Volunteers have collected cigarette butts, soda cans and water bottles. Sometimes these items are blown from truck beds or vehicles while traveling. This type of littering is easy to prevent by simply stashing your trash in a small litter bag it in your vehicle and tossing it in a trash can at your next stop.

You had a lot more great questions that I answer in today's video at right. You'll also be able to see some of the artwork that was submitted. All of the Keep It Grand drawings you sent are in the slideshow below.

​If this is the first ADOT Kids activity you've participated in, please make sure you check out our free Zoom backgrounds and No-Litter Lucy maze. Our current activity asks kids to design bridges! You can find all of our ADOT Kids activities at azdot.gov/ADOTKids. and the ADOT Blog at azdot.gov/blog. Please check back often because there are new ones coming out all the time.

Now let's look at everyone's terrific art!

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

By Garin Groff / ADOT Communications

Do you like building things? How about rock climbing? Or flying drones? If any of those things sound fun to you, then you might enjoy becoming somebody who designs and builds bridges.

Bridges are an important part of helping people get around your town and to other parts of Arizona. Think of all the times you cross bridges. They go over rivers, washes, canals, railroad tracks and even other roads – they can be just about anywhere!

It’s really cool to watch bridges being built. Just take a look at this video to the right and you can see a 2016 ADOT bridge project on Interstate 15 in the northwestern corner of Arizona.

What does it take to build a bridge? First, you need people who have studied a lot of math and science. When they learn certain types of math and science, they can become engineers – people who design and build things.

After engineers design a bridge, construction begins. Workers drill holes up to 100 feet into the ground for the foundation, then fill the holes with concrete and steel. On top of that, more concrete and steel are used to make piers. Then on top of the piers, huge cranes lift large metal or concrete sections called girders. Finally, concrete is poured on top of the girders for the roadway.

All that work usually takes 9-12 months.

After bridges are built, workers sometimes need to inspect bridges to make sure they are well-maintained. It’s not easy getting to all the places underneath a bridge, but some of the ways to get there seem fun! Some workers rappel off the sides of bridges like rock climbers. And sometimes, we fly drones to look under bridges.

Bridges are built strong enough to last 75 years but can last even longer with good maintenance. When it is time to replace and tear down a bridge, you might be surprised at one way to do it – with explosives! Check out this video of the 2016 Hell Canyon Bridge demolition north of Prescott to see how fast a bridge can be demolished. 

I hope you know a lot more about bridges now. And I want to tell you about ADOT’s bridge design manager, David Benton. He is a civil engineer, a person who designs things like bridges, roads, dams or airports. He first thought about construction and engineering when he spent a lot of time playing in the mud as a kid.

“If you like to build things out of mud and like to shape things out of mud, that’s what it’s like to build with concrete,” he said. “I remember a teacher said if you like to build things and you’re good at math, civil engineering is a good profession.”

Mr. Benton has kindly volunteered to answer questions you send us about bridges when you complete this week's ADOT Kids activity:

DRAW A BRIDGE AND SEND IT TO US: We've provided a coloring sheet below with a highway that needs a bridge to be complete. When you draw your bridge, have an adult scan or take a picture of your drawing and email it to [email protected]. If you don't have a printer handy, feel free to create your own bridge drawing from scratch and share it with us. NOTE: We've included a slideshow below with all pictures that were sent to us. 

To provide inspiration, we've included a slideshow below with pictures of bridges so you can see the creative ways engineers design how to support them. As you look through the photos, think about how you will support your own bridge.

We'll add every drawing we receive by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, to a slideshow and put it right here on Friday, May 1, so you can see your masterpiece along with everyone else's. We've included spaces for you to include your first name (only your first name, please), your age and where you live. We can't post photos of you with your art, but we'd love to show just your art.

SEND US QUESTIONS: When an adult emails your picture to [email protected], please send us questions you have about bridges. We'll share the most popular questions with Mr. Benton, the ADOT engineer who knows A LOT about bridges. NOTE: We've included a video below with Mr. Benton's answers. 

I can't wait to see what you do with these drawings and to see what questions you have about ADOT bridges!

Slideshow with examples of bridges:

The coloring activity sheet:

Video answering your questions:

Slideshow with everyone's colorings:

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

If you've participated in our 'Keep it Grand' art challenge and are wondering how you can join the fight against litter, this blog post is for you! 

​Through the years, we've had many kids participate in ADOT's Adopt a Highway volunteer program. Whether big or small, volunteers always feel like they get something out of the experience. Volunteers have told us adopting a highway is a "feel-good thing to do" and is "important work."

Did you know this is National Volunteer Week? We celebrated it today by paying tribute to the 10,000 volunteers who picked up litter along state highways in the past year. 

Many of our youngest volunteers start when their families adopt stretches of highway. That means they agree to pick up litter along the highway at least once a year. An earlier blog post highlights how the Clark family has been picking up litter along State Route 473 in the White Mountains for 11 years. The picture on the right shows their two daughters after a cleanup. While the Clark family is helping beautify our state, they also use the time to share family memories. 

Each year, the Coester family ​gathers 15 to 20 family and friends, young and old, to work on US 180. You can see the large group that gathered last summer and read their story in our blog post. You’ll learn how the family honors David Coester and the area he loved. The family enjoys welcoming their little family members to the group to be guided by those with more experience. 

For those who don’t gather with their families to adopt highways, civic and charitable groups can participate. Boy Scout Troop 7193 cleans up mile 222 on State Route 260 near Camp Verde. Near St. Johns in eastern Arizona, the Apache County 4-H club works on milepost 380. Whether it is a religious group, youth group or school group, all are welcome! 

If you want to see what a litter pickup looks like, watch our video below.

You can learn more about how easy it is to participate in the Adopt a Highway program on our website. For safety reasons, we ask volunteers to be 12 and older. 

A reminder: If you have questions about picking up litter around the state or want us to feature your artwork encouraging others to keep our state clean, please send them to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22. We’ll be answering your questions and showing off your artwork on Friday, April 24.

A bonus activity: I hope you'll check out the maze at bottom right. You can print play by clicking the image or the link below it. Have fun No-litter Lucy get her litter bag to the trash can!

 

Click image or this link for PDF

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. (This blog was originally posted in 2020)

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications

Have you ever asked yourself where does all the water go? Believe it or not, the answer has a lot to do with this week's ADOT Kids activity about Keeping Arizona Grand by reducing litter. 

After a decent rainfall in Arizona, washes and gutters run, and puddles are everywhere. But usually it's gone the next day. So what happens to it all?

Those are some big questions – so much so that ADOT is a partner along with Maricopa and Pinal counties and more 20 central Arizona cities and towns in the Arizona Stormwater Outreach for Regional Municipalities, or AZSTORM.

Everyone has concerns when it comes to stormwater, which is the term for water that comes from rain and can't get immediately into the ground. That includes everything flowing off roads, driveways, sidewalks and parking lots. 

To help explore the answers, AZSTORM created a "Stormwater in the Desert" activity book for middle-school students. This colorful and informative activity book walks you through the how rain falls in the Sonoran Desert, the water cycle, watersheds, land topography, surface types, storm safety and what groundwater is. You'll also learn how important it is to keep stormwater from being polluted. At ADOT, for example, we see litter often getting swept up by stormwater, which can clog freeway drainage systems and keep water from getting where it needs to go. 

But this isn't some dry textbook. Along with the facts and explanations, there are puzzles, games, tests and experiments to help you immerse yourself in how water gets around. You'll also find links to websites and online games to help you keep exploring what water means to those living in the desert.

You can find a PDF of the activity book here. 

If you've ever been curious about your city's stormwater system, why flash floods happen or how to help stop water pollution, now is the perfect time to learn! It's another way kids can help Keep Arizona Grand.

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

Thanks to everyone who took part in our first ADOT Kids activity about snowplows! I hope you had fun. We at ADOT sure enjoyed doing it. 

Everyone here loved the colorings you shared. And thanks for sending us so many great questions about snowplows.

As promised, there's a slideshow below with everyone's colorings. At right, you can watch a fun video with an ADOT engineer who knows A LOT about snowplows and how we keep highways safe during winter storms. His name is Jesse Gutierrez, and his job is Deputy State Engineer for Operations. We sure appreciate him answering your questions about snowplows.

We have more fun ADOT Kids activities lined up for you. Until next Wednesday, April 22, we hope you will take part in our Keep It Grand Art Challenge. We want you to use sidewalk chalk or anything else you have handy to encourage people to keep Arizona looking great by not littering. Please follow this link for more information. 

Next Wednesday, April 22, we'll have a new activity about how engineers build bridges. For more ADOT Kids fun, please keep checking back at azdot.gov/blog or by following the #ADOTKids hashtag on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

Now let's look at this terrific art you sent us!

Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

When ADOT talks trash, it's usually a little different than what most mean by "trash talk." When we "talk trash" it's usually about cleaning up litter along state highways and the Adopt a Highway volunteer program.

Yesterday we launched an activity for kids to submit their version of the Keep it Grand logo, reminding everyone not to litter. We can't wait to see the art you submit to [email protected]! 

Today we have a short quiz to test your knowledge of litter in Arizona and the Adopt a Highway program. You can get answers to the quiz on the ADOT website and the Adopt a Highway site. Good luck! If you get all the answers right, we give you permission to "talk trash!"