Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

Structural Integrity

Strong bridges built by stronger students at TRU contest

Mar 9, 2020 | 5:12 PM

KAMLOOPS — Engineers are trained professionals whose work touches almost every aspect of daily life. From sewage treatment to road building, they’re the people who plan major infrastructure projects to ensure they’re safe, effective and efficient. On Saturday, several local engineers spent the day giving back to the next generation at TRU, as the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC held their 17th annual edition of their Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest.

Several dozen keen young minds gathered at TRU for the contest, hosted by the South Central Branch of the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC.

“We try to get youth involved in science and engineering,” contest founder Andrew Watson told CFJC Today. “100 popsicle sticks, a half-meter span. Build the strongest bridge with prizes for elementary, secondary and open.”

Watson was front and center at the contest, as he would bring a student up, discuss their bridge, and then set it up on the testing platform. Once in place, each bridge was tested using a hydraulic press to see just how much weight the structure can withstand. Reactions from the builders are mixed.

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“I’ve had everything from elementary school students asking why I’m crushing their art project to, just now, one little girl anxious to get her bridge tested because she did it last year and figured out what was wrong with it and made a new one,” Watson said. “That’s all the process of design we’re hoping to encourage.”

There were as many bridge designs as there were kids, with each student bringing something unique to the contest. Carter Bylycia took an impressive 88 lbs of pressure before it failed.

“[I wanted to] make it strong, like build lots of triangles,” Bylycia explained. “They’re the strongest shape.”

The Evans twins, Bethany and Alicia, used their dad, an engineer, as a sounding board. The two David Thompson Elementary students then decided which type of bridge they thought could win the competition.

“We were looking at the truss bridges, so we did different truss ones,” Bethany explained.

“I did a Pratt [truss bridge],” Alicia explained.

“I did a Howe [truss bridge],” Bethany told CFJC Today.

And yes, there was definitely some internal competition between the two — Bethany’s bridge handled 132 lbs of pressure before it failed. Alicia went next, and her bridge failed at 137 lbs of pressure.

According to Watson, the contest is a lot of fun, but it’s almost secondary to the ultimate goal: “We’re hoping that if we introduce them to these ideas in elementary school, more of them will take the course that they need when they go to university they can seek out a profession in engineering or science.”