Science & Arts Academy First Bridge Building Contest

Rules:

1. The bridge must be built according to the bridge building code.

1. The bridge will be judge on both efficiency and appearance.

1. The bridge will be tested for strength by placing a bar across the middle of the bridge and hanging weights from the bar. The last weight that the bridge holds for 30 seconds without touching the cardboard in any spot (except at the bridge foundation) is the weight recorded for the strength of the bridge.

1. Ms. Kautaukas’ homeroom will be competing against Ms. Dickmans’ homeroom in this event. However, each student is responsible for his/her own bridge design.

Bridge Building Code:

1. The bridges may be built from any wood type and bonded by glue. No other materials may be used (ex. No particleboard, fake wood type products, bamboo, paper, or commercially laminated wood) Bass wood, glue and sand paper have been given to each student. Bass wood is known for its strength while balsa wood is known for its lightweight.

1. There are no limits on the cross section sizes of individual pieces of wood.

1. Build the bridge on a piece of cardboard 35cm x 15 cm.

1. Draw a river, 15cm wide, in the middle of the cardboard.

1. Draw one 5cm square at each end of the cardboard, 2.5 cm from the river and 2.5 cm from the edge. Making the actual span of the bridge anywhere from 20 cm to 30 cm, as long as the “legs” fit within those 5 cm squares on the edge of the cardboard.

10. Draw and cut a 4 cm square exactly in the center of the cardboard, in the river. This is where the weights will hang through when we do our strength test. Therefore, do not make a solid deck.

11. When building the bridge, apply glue sparingly and ONLY at the joints.

12.    The bridge must at all times touch only the cardboard inside the drawn squares. If you choose to use toothpicks, they may be glued into holes punched in the cardboard inside the squares.

13.    The bridge must be more than 5 cm high. This distance is measured from the cardboard to where the deck of the bridge would be. A small boat 5 cm high must be able to travel the length of the river. In other words, travel “under” the bridge. However, the actual height of the overall bridge is entirely up to you.

14.     The bridge must be at least 4 cm wide. A truck 3.5 cm wide, must be able to travel the length of the road, if the bridge had a deck. Again, no solid decks.

15.    Please take into account where the tension and compression is in your bridge design. Each student will need to indicate in their design plan, compression, tension and no load bearing. Most blueprints should have been completed in class.

16.    All bridge designs will be due no later than Friday, January 8, 2010 with the actual bridge breaking contest taking place on Monday, January 11, 2010. All design blueprints will be due at that time also.

17.     You will have the remainder of this week for working on your designs. The rest of the project will need to be completed AT HOME.

18.    And lastly, this should be a fun experience. Yes, you may have your parents “help” you, but you must do most of the work. So play some music and sing along as you build your bridge!

Thank you,

Mrs. Storiz