The present invention is directed to a covalently crosslinked hydrogel comprising the strain-promoted reaction product of an 8-member cycloalkyne functionalized polyalkylene glycol and a multi-arm glycerol exytholate triazide and methods for making them. Because the precursor materials can be manipulated without causing crosslinking, provided the strain threshold is not reached, these hydrogels permit mechanical control over when (and where) cross linking occurs and are easier to use than prior strain-activated or temperature-activated systems. These novel hydrogels do not require a catalyst to cross link, thus avoiding the biocompatibility problems common to many catalysts. Nor is the crosslinking process affected by the presence of catalysts or other substances, which have interfered with crosslinking in known strain induced hydrogels. Because of their crosslinking reaction kinetics, these novel hydrogels can encapsulate and transport highly sensitive cells and other biological additives and have no known toxic byproducts.