General Information:
Contestants will construct a bridge using only LEGO blocks. All materials needed for construction will be provided. Contestants will label their bridge with their name, email and contact phone number. The bridges will then be tested to see how much weight they are able to hold; weight will be added in slowly applied increments until the bridge fails. Failure is defined as the bridge no longer being able to span the 10 inch gap. The contestant whose bridge is able to hold the highest load will win prizes! No pre-registration is required; simply show up on the day of the contest to register and build your bridge!
Rules and Specifications:
- Each contestant will be given a bag of LEGO pieces. Only these pieces can be used to build the bridge, but it is not a requirement to use all pieces in the bag.
- When turning in your bridge, please return all unused Lego pieces, if any.
- No pre-constructed bridges allowed, and no materials outside of the Legos in the bag can be used.
- The bridges must span a minimum of 10 inches (they will be placed across an 8 inch span for testing). There is no minimum width or height requirement.
- Loads will be applied slowly, but for a particular load increment to count, the bridge must hold that load for 3 seconds.
- Parents will be not allowed to help children in the building process.
- The judge’s rulings are final.
Judging and Testing:
To test each bridge, the bridge will be placed across two tables spaced 8 inches apart. A bucket will be placed under the bridge, attached to the top of the bridge by the handle. Weight will be added to the bucket in small increments at a slow rate until the bridge fails. The bridge is considered failed when the bridge no longer spans the tables or the bucket touches the floor (excessive deformation).
This contest will take place in three separate rounds. Building sessions will begin at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 a.m. Loading will begin at 9:50, 10:50, and 11:50 a.m.
Bridges will be judged on the amount of weight they hold before failure. A small prize will be given to the winner of each round. A grand prize will be given to the bridge (in each age category) that is able to hold the most weight for the entire day. Contact information for each contestant will be collected in order to notify grand prize winners.
Prizes:
Small prizes will be given to the winner of each round (building session), and grand prizes will be given to the overall winner for the entire day for each age category.
Contacts:
Stacey Schal
slscha3@g.uky.edu
Mike McHenry
michael.mchenry@uky.edu
Contestant eligibility:
Students must be 18 years or younger. There will be two age categories: 6th grade and up, and 5th grade and below.
Sponsored by:
This contest is sponsored by the UK student chapter of Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society. The goal of this contest is to promote enthusiasm for engineering and foster creativity.