Professional Documents
Culture Documents
001-1023-11-Wipgmk-2011 Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition 000 Fd3
001-1023-11-Wipgmk-2011 Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition 000 Fd3
001-1023-11-Wipgmk-2011 Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition 000 Fd3
STICKBRIDGE
BUILDING
COMPETITION
RULEBOOK
Revision:0
1/26/2011
TableofContents
I.
SCORING................................................................................................................................................3
A.Strength................................................................................................................................................3
B.Aesthetics..............................................................................................................................................3
II.
DIMENSIONSANDRULES......................................................................................................................4
A.Construction.........................................................................................................................................4
B.Dimensions............................................................................................................................................4
C.Rules......................................................................................................................................................5
D.HelpfulHints.........................................................................................................................................5
III.
MATERIALSANDCOMPONENTS.......................................................................................................6
A.BridgeMaterials....................................................................................................................................6
B.BridgeDeckMaterial............................................................................................................................6
C.BannerMaterials...................................................................................................................................6
IV.
BRIDGETESTING................................................................................................................................7
A.Priortocompetition.............................................................................................................................7
B.BridgeLoadTesting...............................................................................................................................7
V. PRIZES..............................................................................................................................................8
A.Places....................................................................................................................................................8
VI.
CONTACTS.........................................................................................................................................9
A.General.................................................................................................................................................9
B.Questions..............................................................................................................................................9
Page|2
I. SCORING
Scoringwillbethesameforallcategories.
A.Strength
Thebridgecapableofthehighestloadwillwinthestrengthcategory.Eachcategorywill
haveaprize;outofthethree(3)categoriesthestrongestbridgewillreceiveanotherprize.The
strengthtestwillbedoneasdescribedinsectionIV.BRIDGETESTING(Page7).
B.Aesthetics
Thefullnameoftheschool,gradeandteamnamemustappearonthebridge,ona
bannerattachedtothebridge.Thelettersaretobeatminimumof10mmhigh.Itshouldbein
placeonthebridgebeforeregistration.
Inadditiontothename,otherfactorsthatwillbeconsideredinjudgingincludegeneral
appearance,balanceandproportionofthedesign,innovation,andfinish.
Page|3
II. DIMENSIONSANDRULES
A.Construction
Thebridgemustbeconstructedbytheparticipants(students).Failuretofollowthis
constructionrulewillresultindisqualification.
B.Dimensions
Thebridgemustbeabletospan500mm,bemorethan100mmwide,200mmhigh,and
protrudenomorethan50mmbelowthebottomofthebridgedeck.Thebridgemustalsobe
freefromsupportby30mmoneachside.Thebridgedeckmustbecoveredinconstruction
paper(toallowaMatchboxsizedcarrollacross(seesectionC.Rulesformoredetails).
Page|4
C.Rules
1. ThebridgemustconformtoA.ConstructionandB.Dimensions.
2. Thecompletebridgeistocontainamaximumof100Popsiclesticksjoinedtogetherwithall
purpose,nontoxicglue(note:crazyandindustrialgluearenotpermitted).Whiteglueisthe
onlygluepermitted.
3. Popsiclesticksmaybecut.
4. AMatchbox/HotWheelssizedtoycarmustbeabletoberolledacrossthebridgeonthebridge
deck.Thecarisapproximately3.5cmwideand2cminheight.
5. Pinning,clampingornonwhitegluearenotallowedtobeusedforconnections.Failureto
abidebythisrulewillresultindisqualification.
6. Thebannermustbeclearlyvisible.Formoreinformationonthelabel,seesectionI.Scoring.
7. Thebridgemusthaveclearancetoinserttheloadingbar.SizescanbefoundinsectionIV.
BridgeTesting
D.HelpfulHints
Giveyourselfplentyoftime;dontwaituntilthelastminutetobuildyourbridge.
Thegluewillneedatleast24hourstodryandwillgetstrongerifallowedtodry
for2daysormore.Also,woodjointsarealwaysstrongerifyouclampthemtight
whilethegluedriestryusingbigpaperclipstoclampthestickstogether
(clampsmustberemovedbeforecompetition).
Forbridgeideaslookaroundatrealbridges.APopsiclestickbridgeisofcourse
muchsmaller,butthesameprinciplesapply(theimportantpartisnotthedeck,
butthesteelorconcretestructurethatsupportsit).Lookparticularlyatrailway
trussbridges,butalsoatbridgeslikethePortMannBridge,theSecondNarrows
Bridge,andtheQueensboroughBridge.TheLionsGateBridgeandAlexFraser
Bridgearenotgoodexamplestofollowbecausetheyrelyoncables.
ResearchtheInternetandyourlocallibraryforbridgereference
informationtohelpyourdesign.
Yourbridgeneedstohaveasolid,stiffshape.NoticehowaPopsiclestickis
muchstifferandstrongerwhenonitsedge.Abunchofsticksgluedtogetherflat,
likearaft,hasverylittlestrengthandwillsagduringtesting.Thestrongest
structuralshapeisthetriangle.
Abridgethatissymmetricalislesslikelytotwistwhenloadedandhencewillprobably
carrymoreload.
Ifyouarentsureifyourbridgewillbestable,testityourselfspanitacrosstwo
tablessetabout500mmapart,andpressdownonthetopofthebridgeinthe
middleofthespan.
Inpastyearswinningbridgesatthiscompetitionheldover300kg(660pounds).
Therecordforabridgewithonly100sticksis321.9kg(710pounds)!
Page|5
III. MATERIALSANDCOMPONENTS
DurabilityandConstructability
A.BridgeMaterials
Thematerialforthebridgeconstructionwillbeprovided:
1) 1,Packof100PopsicleSticks.
2) 1,4ozBottleofwhiteglue.
Ifthereismorethanone(1)groupfromaschoolpercategorytheymustprovidetheir
ownPopsiclesticksandglue.Thegluemustbewhiteglue.ThePopsiclesticksusedmustbe
withinthefollowingspecifications:
1) 113mmLong.
2) 10mmWide.
3) 1.5mmThick.
B.BridgeDeckMaterial
Constructionpaper(notprovided)willbeusedtomakethebridgedeck,ensureitisa
flat,singlesheetandwillallowaMatchbox/HotWheelssizedcartorollacross.The
constructionpapershouldbeHilroybrand,item#25305,9x12.Useonlythethicknessofone
sheetforthedeckofthebridge.
C.BannerMaterials
Materialsneededfortheschoolnameandgradebannerwillnotbeprovided.Any
materialcanbeusedaslongasthebannerdoesnotbecomeastructuralpartofthebridge.
Teamsusingthebannerasastructuralpartofbridgewillbedisqualified.
Page|6
IV. BRIDGETESTING
A.Priortocompetition
Judgeswill:
Weigheachbridgetoensurethatamaximumof100sticksareused.
ExamineeachbridgetoensurethatonlyPopsiclesticks,whiteglueandconstruction
paperareusedandthattheconstructionpaperisonlyusedforthebridgedeck.
Ensureeachbridgehasateambannerandhasnostructuraleffect.
Checkeachbridgetoensureithasaloadinggapasperspecifications(Listedbelow).
CheckbridgethatthereisadeckandthataMatchboxcarcanpassacrossthebridge.
Bridgesnotmeetingtheserequirementsmaybedisqualifiedfromthecompetition.
B.BridgeLoadTesting
Thebridgewillbeloadedviaoneloadingbar.Toaccommodatetheloadingbar,a30
mmx30mmgapmustbeprovidedbetweentheverticalmembersofthebridgeatthecenter
(seefigurebelow).Thegapistobecontinuousthroughouttheentirewidthofthebridgeand
mustallowthebartositdirectlyonthebridgedeck.
Note:Testingwillresultinmostorallbridgesbeingdestroyed,sotakeyourpicturesbefore!
Page|7
(BridgeLoadTestingcontinued)
V. PRIZES
A.Places
PrizeCategories
Thestrongestthreebridgesineachofthethreecategoriesabove/1stprizeis$500.
Thestrongestoverallbridge/1stprizeis$500fortheclass.TheTrophyofExcellenceforBridge
DesignandInnovationgoestothewinnersschooluntilthenextcompetition.Itwillbeengraved
withthewinnersteamandschoolname.
Themostinnovativedesign/1stprizeis$200.
Additionalprizesmaybeawardedforotherplaces.
Page|8
VI. CONTACTS
A.General
ForRegistration,SuppliesandRulebookcontactCarolynLittmannat:
administration@lapointeeng.comor2506309252ext.121.
B.Questions
ForquestionsregardingthecompetitionpleasecontactyourlocalAPEGbranchmember:
Title
Name
Telephone
Kitimat /
Haida Gwaii
Chair
mark.gravel@lapointe-eng.com
Smithers
Vice Chair
mallen@smithers.ca
(250) 847-1600
Prince Rupert
(Prince Rupert)
Member at
Large
jmalthus@rupertport.com
(250) 627-5618
Terrace
(Terrace)
Member at
Large
Christopher
Houston, EIT.
chouston@mcelhanney.com
(250) 635-7163
Page|9