The Butler County Engineer's
Office held its fifth annual bridge competition this morning
in conjunction with the Hamilton City Schools Gifted Program.
About 75 students participated in the event which is aimed at
teaching the principles and physics of bridge design and engineering.
Students arrive at
the Engineer's Office with toothpick bridges on which they have
worked for ten weeks. During the bridge building process they
are encouraged to research and study various types of bridge
structures and come up with their own designs. The students then
build their bridges within a required set of parameters using
toothpicks and glue, applying the physics and engineering principles
they've learned.
When competition day
arrives, BCEO engineers subject each bridge to a load stress
test to determine its strength. This is done through point-loading,
a process by which the engineers apply increasing amounts of
weight to a single spot on the bridge until it breaks.
"The strongest
bridge wins," said Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens.
"But this year we also added a category for best appearance
and craftsmanship. We see a lot of creativity that goes into
making these toothpick bridges both strong and aesthetically
pleasing."
The winners in the
best design and appearance category were Mark Boyle of Lincoln
Elementary, Zachary Simpson of Pierce Elementary, and Tori Hopkins
from Van Buren Elementary.
Taking first place
in the strength category was Karre Landers of Grant Elementary
whose bridge withstood 64 pounds point-loaded before breaking.
The second sturdiest bridge broke at 58.5 pounds and was built
by Claire Barrington from Monroe Elementary. Third place went
to Brianna Bush of Harrison Elementary at 45 pounds.
"The bridge competition
is a fun way for the students to experience a taste of civil
engineering," said Wilkens. "Perhaps a few of them
may even choose this field as a career path. Either way, we hope
it's been a positive learning experience for these very gifted
and talented young individuals. Our thanks to the Hamilton City
Schools for partnering with us on this event."
- Click on images
to enlarge.
- Strength Test
winners: Claire Barrington, Karre Landers, Brianna Bush.
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- Best Design
winners: Mark Boyle, Zachary Simpson,
- Tori Hopkins...
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- BCEO engineers
and the Strength Test winners. .....................................
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- Students get
a lesson in sign-making.
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- Students get
ready to have their bridges tested...
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- BCEO engineers
strength test a bridge as students look on.
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- BCEO engineers
Mark Goodman and Dave Quimby get ready to stength test a bridge.
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- Best Design
winner Mark Boyle with his bridge. ......................................
- ....
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- A sampling
of the 75 toothpick bridges. ...................................................
- .......
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For more information
contact:
Chris
Petrocy, BCEO Public Information Supervisor
Greg Wilkens, P.E., P.S.,
Butler County Engineer
Phone 513.867.5744 • Fax 513.867.5849
