Bridge Builders

With an hour, 50 toothpicks, and 30 gum drops, student teams must build the strongest bridge.

In this one hour challenge, students worked in their buddy groups as middle and lower school students partnered together to create the strongest bridge out of a very limited supply of gum drops and toothpicks.

After first reviewing the common types of bridges, students worked through elements of the design thinking process to brainstorm, plan, prototype and test again and again until their bridge was tested under the weight of hundreds of pennies.

Students learned first hand the engineering concepts behind bridges, but also learned how to work in a group of varying ages to create a successful solution.