Students Learn Engineering Skills

Last month, 25 students from participated in the Toothpick Bridge Building Event at Fernbank Science Center.

This event is sponsored by the local branches of the American Society of Civil Engineers, The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Structural Engineers of Georgia as part of National Engineers Week.

Students designed and built bridges out of toothpicks, then on the day of the event, they took their bridges to the Fernbank Science Center where the bridges were tested to failure to measure their load carrying ability.

Tapp Science teacher Nancy Howard has taken students to this event for the last 7 years. She was helped this year by teachers Betsy Frost and Chris Cannon. The students started working on their bridges in November, working after school up to three nights a week.

The bridges were made entirely out of toothpicks and glue and could not weigh more than 121 grams. They were also required to be free standing. There were other guidelines which can be found at the SME website. 

The bridges are tested by volunteers from the sponsoring engineer organizations by being put onto a “bridge testing” machine. The machine uses a computer controlled hydraulic piston to slowly apply force to the bridge. As it adds weight to the bridge, the students sees a real-time display of how much weight their bridge is holding. Sooner or later, everyone’s bridge fails. However, well-designed bridges will hold more weight and last longer.

After the event, students received feedback from the engineers about their bridges. They also were given t-shirts and certificates. Howard said she was proud of her students for their superior behavior and for doing a great job representing Tapp.