Cedar Grove Elementary was a hubbub of energy as popsicle stick bridges were tested and broken by student builders at the 12th annual Sunshine Coast Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest. Hoots and hollers, and cheers for builders as students from Grades 3 to 7 added pressure to their own bridges until… they failed… yes, until the bridges broke or stopped taking pressure.
Luca Prekratic, 11, for the second year in a row, built the bridge taking the greatest pressure at 784.7 Newtons, which equals 176 pounds of pressure. Quite an achievement for popsicle sticks! Luca’s bridge took top honours across all categories of builders.
Reed Spence, a student at Roberts Creek Elementary, won in the family category at 492.5 Newtons and Tina Flux brought home top prize for the adult/open category at 235.6 Newtons.
There were 108 bridges tested, up 42 per cent from the last “usual” year of testing.
Teachers took 201 kits for students. “Many bridges were built by more than one student and a few students did not complete their bridge in time for testing,” said Sam DiGiandomenico, secretary treasurer for Technology Festival Association of BC (TFABC) and bridge registrations lead. Signy Bjarnason, a teacher at Cedar Grove Elementary, had the class that submitted the greatest number of bridges. The class was awarded a pizza lunch.
“A primary objective of TFABC is to engage the community, especially youth, in STEM learning and career exploration,” said TFABC vice president, Peter Moonen. In his career as National Sustainability Manager, Canadian Wood Council, Peter is focused on wood and its uses to the benefit of Canada and B.C.’s communities and economy. “The bridge contest is an ideal initiative through which student and other builders might better appreciate a few key elements going into engineering design and construction, and the strengths of a popsicle stick whether placed on its side or flipped 90 degrees to introduce a placement in the design that will yield a much greater pressure.”
The organizing group is looking forward to the 2024 bridge contest. For the 13th TFABC is looking at some new features, including conducting testing at more than one school. Review all test results and a video of bridge testing at Sunshine Coast Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest on Facebook.
