For months, students from grade school to high school have spent hours planning their super structure bridge and on Saturday, they got to destroy them.
“Bridge Building is a great way to introduce young minds to the world of civil engineering,” states Ray Escasa, Bridge Building co-organizer and Sault College recruiter. “It’s always exciting for youth and their parents to see what happens when their bridges are tested for strength and then crushed – there’s nothing quite like it.”
“It’s tremendous what they do” Sal Ienca, a civil engineer and judge at the Bridge Building Contest, an annual contest testing the structural integrity of the bridges – built with balsa wood.
“Local schools have continued to embrace this event after more than two decades, incorporating the contest into their bridges and structures curriculum and here at Sault College, we are honoured to once again host the event and inspire students at such an early age.” Escasa said
The contest was open to elementary students to high school grades 9-12 with cash and other prizes.
Phil Becker, General Manager of the International Bridge Administration has generously donated the following prizes for the top 3 winners in each of the three grade categories (Grades 5/6, Grades 7/8 and Grades 9-12):
- 1st Place: a guided tour of the International Bridge
- 2nd Place: a mounted “50th anniversary piece of the bridge”
- 3rd Place: an anniversary ball cap.
First place for the Grade 9-12 category is an International Bridge Arch Tour presented on behalf of the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority Board of Directors and the International Bridge Administration staff.
