NORFOLK, Neb. - A friendly end of the academic year competition showcased the work of students in one program at Northeast Community College on Wednesday.
Three students in the structural drafting program participated in the annual Popsicle Stick Bridge event in the college’s Chuck M. Pohlman Agriculture Complex.
The competition is designed to demonstrate the structural integrity and structural concentration of the bridges the students spend weeks and months constructing. The competition, organized by Michael Holcomb, Northeast structural CAD (computer aided design)/drafting instructor, is held at the conclusion of the academic year each May.
“The students create drawings of their bridges which is really what this is all about. It’s about drawing their structures and then building them,” Holcomb said. “As drafters we tend to think that we can draw anything into the computer. I want (students) to experience the fact that you can’t just build it. Just because you can draw it, it can’t necessarily be built.”
Each bridge must be at least nine inches wide and sit between two towers of concrete masonry units that sit 48 inches apart. The students use free weights and an eight-foot steel channel to place on their bridges until they reach the breaking point. Students have the option to stop once they achieve the 100% target goal put on their creations, but all competitors over the years have continued to load on the weight until they can’t hold anymore.
Ideally, bridges should hold 50 times their weight, which allows students to receive 100% on the assignment. Over the course of the competition, bridges weighed on average between two to five pounds, with one bridge five years ago topping out at 6.81 lbs. This year, the three bridges were among the lightest that have competed since records have been kept.
“It’s not about working harder, it’s about working smarter,” Holcomb said.
As a crowd of Northeast students, employees, families, friends, and others were on hand to watch the competition in the ag complex and on a livestream, Garet Lockhart, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, began the competition with his bridge, “The Downy,” named for the laundry detergent which came in handy as a weight source during the bridge’s construction.
His 1 lb. 9 oz bridge held 160 lbs. - 102 times its weight to claim this year’s title. The “Joker,” the
1 lb. 13.7 oz bridge constructed by Condie Jenkins, Norfolk, was second after it held 100 lbs. - 53.8 times its weight.
Ayden Prososki’s 1 lb. 7.5 oz bridge, called “Mike’s Left Foot,” was the lightest bridge to ever take part in the competition. Prososki, Columbus, saw his bridge come tumbling down early on after it was unable to sustain the 50 times weight threshold.
None of the students who competed earned a spot on the event’s all-time Top 40 list. Holcomb said he wasn’t disappointed because achieving that task is challenging.
“To claim a spot on the all-time list is difficult at best and it’s an honor when anyone gets their name on it,” he said. “Although Garet, Condie and Ayden didn’t make the Top 40, they achieved what I hope every student in this competition aspires. They accomplished what they set out to do by designing the lightest bridges we’ve ever seen in the competition.”
Representatives from the Nucor Detailing Center (NDC) were among those who witnessed the competition in person. Jenkins has been working as an intern at NDC while both he and Prososki have accepted full-time employment there upon graduation from Northeast. NDC has a long association with the event. Each year, it presents the winner with $100 and a certificate. Tyler Stubben, the all-time winner of the bridge competition in 2019, and last year’s winner, Jayden Weber, are both employed at NDC and were on hand to award Lockhart his prize.
The Drafting Popsicle Bridge event was recorded by Northeast Media Arts – Broadcasting program and may be viewed at https://team1sports.com/northeastcc/ and click On Demand.
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Bridge Competition 1
Northeast Community College Drafting Student Garet Lockhart, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, (second from right) watches as his bridge collapses under heavy weight during the Drafting Program’s 13th annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition on Wednesday at the Chuck M. Pohlman Agriculture Complex. Lockhart won the competition with Condie Jenkins, Norfolk, (right) taking second and Ayden Prososki (left) third. The competition is designed to demonstrate the structural integrity and structural concentration of the bridges the students spend weeks and months constructing. (Northeast Community College)