Purdue civil engineers to host high school bridge bust competition
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Teams from 13 Indiana and Illinois high schools will construct bridges only to see them destroyed during the 32nd annual Bridge Bust contest March 4 at Purdue University.
The competition, administered by the Purdue chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.
Competing high schools from Indiana are Benton Central, Park Tudor (Indianapolis), Andrean (Merrillville), Greenfield-Central, Plymouth, South Vermillion, North Vermillion, Rochester, Noblesville and West Central (Francesville). Illinois schools are from Danville, Westville and Paxton-Buckley-Loda.
The schools will bring 73 teams and 131 students.
Teams will assemble the bridges from 20 sticks of balsa wood and a bottle of glue. Most bridges are approximately 2 feet long and 8 inches high. The teams will be judged on loading efficiency, aesthetic qualities and structural concepts.
Loading efficiency will be determined by pouring sand into buckets that will be hung from the bridges. The bridge that can hold the most weight wins that category.
Robert Connor, associate professor of civil engineering, will give the keynote address at 10 a.m.
Bridge breaking will be done from about 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Event chairman Kendra Schenk, a civil engineering major from Evansville, Ind., said Bridge Bust is designed to get high school students interested in science and engineering.
"Our goal is to help the students learn more about engineering — especially Purdue Civil Engineering — while exploring their creativity with the design," she said.
Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu
Source: Kendra Schenk, kschenk@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: The media are invited to take photos and video footage of the competition. Bridge breaking will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.