While Government is busy with major construction projects throughout T&T, teams from 27 of the nation's secondary schools are preparing to do some construction work of their own–building model bridges using only macaroni and glue. The teams will go up against each other on January 16 at the JFK auditorium at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus, during the first annual Secondary Schools Bridge Building Competition.
The competition is a project of the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Association of Professional Engineers of T&T (APETT) and UWI. According to member of the organising committee and consultant engineer Anthony Farrell, the competition had the blessing of the Ministry of Education and was a great way to encourage students who were so inclined to get involved in engineering at an early age. He said the competition was open to Fifth and Sixth Form students and the response had been overwhelming, "The school children are very enthusiastic about it. We were blown away by their enthusiasm."
Bridging the gap
Based on the rules of the competition, each team, comprising a maximum of six members, would be allowed three hours in which they were required to construct a bridge with one 800 gram pack of Eve macaroni and two tubes of all purpose Instant Krazy Glue. "We had to specify brands because each team has to use the same type of material in order for the competition to be fair," Farrell explained. The rules also specify that each bridge should freely span a 450 millimetre gap, must not be less than 500 millimetres in length, and should not exceed 500 grams. According to another member of the organising committee, engineer Christal Mapp, the glue on the models would be allowed to dry before they would be loaded with weights, starting with one kilogramme and increasing incrementally.
"The bridges will be loaded until they collapse and the one with the best load-to-weight ratio will be declared the winner," Mapp said, adding that the teams were encouraged to put some creativity into their designs, since a $2,400 prize would be awarded for the most aesthetically pleasing bridge. Farrell said that last year's competition was a resounding success and there were 33 teams from 20 schools. However, this year, he said, the committee decided that only one team per school should be allowed to enter. He said the material of choice then was aluminium foil and the winning team came from St Mary's College. "Our first competition was such a great success that we have virtually covered the cost of everything by committed sponsors," said Farrell. The first, second, and third prize winners will receive $6,000, $3,000, and $2,400, respectfully.