In Upper School Math & Science Teacher Travis Menghini’s Engineering course, there’s a competition every December that his students cannot WEIGHt for: the annual Bridge Project. New in the 2024 iteration of the contest, students traded popsicle sticks for paper, glue, and toothpicks, and they were individually tasked with creating paper bridges with the goal of holding the most weight. Menghini explained, « The bridge project took a different direction this year. I found a video of a paper bridge from Plano West Senior High in Plano, Texas. I reached out to the creator of the project, David Carroll, who is their Science Department Chair, and he gave me permission to use the assignment for my classroom. »
Here are the paper bridge project requirements:
- The paper bridge must span 50 centimeters.
- The bridge is to be constructed from white 8.5″ x 11″ or 8.5″ x 14″ copy paper and wood toothpicks.
- Only Elmer’s glue (generic white glue) or Elmer’s glue stick (generic glue stick) are allowed.
- The mass of the bridge shall not exceed 500 grams.
- The bridge shall be freestanding and must span two level surfaces that are 50 centimeters apart.
- The bridge must incorporate a truss design.
- All students are required to use the bridge design simulation.
- The support for the bridge shall be from the top of the level surface.
- The minimum supporting mass requirement is five pounds.
- You must incorporate a « loading zone » at the midpoint of the span along the centerline of the bridge.
- The bridge must include a decking of paper to provide a suitable road surface at least 5 cm wide across the entire span of the bridge.
On Tuesday, December 17, our talented engineering students gathered in the Robotics Lab, supported by an audience of their peers, parents and guardians, faculty, and staff, to put their bridges to the test. Alumna Zoe Zlatic ’24 was even in attendance—her group from last year’s engineering cohort holds the current record for Menghini’s popsicle stick bridge-building contest.
One at a time, each student affixed a bucket to hang from the middle of their bridge. Then, they slowly placed discs of weight, supplied by the Upper School Weight Room, in the bucket until the bridge collapsed or gave way.
Congratulations to the following students for critically thinking and problem-solving their way to participating in this competition:
- Gabriel Weaver ’26
- Aryan Tibrewala ’25
- Miles Jensen ’25
- Tyler Enyard ’25
- Will Frank ’25
- Max Charnond ’25
- Nina Willis ’25
- Cameron Cooper ’25
- Thabo Schultz ’25
- Harris Ahmad ’25
- Carli Salazar Estrada ’25
- Evan Kamat ’25
- Norah Wright ’25
- William Collings ’25
- Isaac Bockert ’25
While some bridges held weight just in the single digits, the engineering masterpiece of William Collings ’25 held an impressive 102 pounds! Collings is the first-ever champion of this Paper Bridge Building Contest. Congratulations, William!
Although the paper bridges didn’t hold as much weight as the popsicle stick bridges, Menghini is thrilled with how the project turned out and the knowledge students gained from the lesson. « The project was a huge success, » he celebrated. « The kids had a more thorough understanding of bridge trusses and forces, which will help them be more prepared for college physics and engineering courses. I am proud of their work and the exciting competition we had! »
Congratulations to our BEAMing engineers! Maybe one day, we will all be TRUSSting you as we set across a bridge you design!