Building more than a bridge
<p>Cesar Stoddard, 16, and Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy geometry teacher Darren Gabrielsen simentainiously place 10-pound weights onto a stack of other weights being held by a bridge Stoddard constructed of popsicle sticks for a class project. The structure held 85 pounds before showing signs of weakness during the classroom test Thursday. Other students in the class will take their bridges to the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center for a competition Saturday which will test the strength and engineering of the structures.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Bridges will break. There will be cracking and splitting as structures are pushed to the point of catastrophic failure.
The destruction takes place Saturday at the Kroc Center during the 2010 Popsicle Stick Bridge-Building Contest, hosted by the local chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
JR Norvell of T-O Engineers in Coeur d'Alene said they expect 65-75 bridges will be entered in the competition, all built by high-school students or younger from the greater Coeur d'Alene area and Spokane.
"What we're trying to do is encourage kids to get involved in engineering at a young age," Norvell said.
It's a way to get students studying math and science on a level that's rewarding and encourages enthusiasm, he said.
Coeur d'Alene Charter instructor Darren Gabrielsen uses the bridge-building competition as part of the curriculum in his ninth- and 10th-grade geometry classes.
"It kind of gives us a break from the book work," Gabrielsen said.
The students put the finishing touches on their competition entries Thursday.
"I love engineering. It's what clicks in my brain," said Daria Greer, a ninth-grade student at Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy.
Greer said she has learned that it takes a lot of time and patience to build something.
"The plan's the easy part," Greer said. "It's a lot harder to execute it."
All bridges entered into the competition must have 30-inch spans and be constructed solely of white birch Popsicle sticks and glue.
The size of the sticks provide young builders with real design problems that arise when the dimensions of materials don't match up with the engineer's needs.
There are size and dimension specifications the bridges must meet. The structures will be judged for their aesthetic qualities, and the builders will be graded on how well they present their projects.
Load capacity will be determined by subjecting each bridge to hydraulic pressure until it reaches the breaking point while measuring the weight the structure is able to withstand.
This is the third year the Inland Empire chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers is hosting a student Popsicle stick bridge-building contest.
It's the first time the event has been held in Coeur d'Alene. In previous years, it was held at Timberlake High School in Spirit Lake and Gonzaga University in Spokane.
The contest is sponsored by T.J. Barnhart Realty, T-O Engineers, Adams & Clark, Architects West, J-U-B Engineers, Strata, USKH and the Coeur Group.
The competition starts at the Kroc Center on Ramsey Road at 10 a.m. Members of the public are welcome to view the event.