Second-year Drafting students will be competing in the annual Popsicle Stick Bridge event in the college’s Chuck Pohlman Agriculture Complex.
The competition, which will take place on Wednesday, April 30, at 1:30 p.m., 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 each academic year.
The students create drawings of their bridges, then build them. As drafters, it might seem anything can be drawn into the computer. This competition shows students that just because something can be drawn, 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.
Records are kept, with students competing for a chance to earn a spot on the all-time list for bridge strength.
Bridge Competition
The Drafting students' annual popsicle bridge competition will take place on Wednesday, April 30, at 1:30 p.m. in the Chuck Pohlman Ag Complex. (Northeast Community College)
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