Engineering Careers Get Sticks-and-Glue Start
Popsicle sticks snapped, split and flew in the air as part of a bridge-building tournament at USC’s Kaprielian Hall on Friday.
“Oh no,” gasped Ning Chen, a junior at Gabrielino High School, when his team’s entry cracked after handling 860 pounds of pressure.
The San Gabriel team finished second in the strength category behind Grant High School. “We spent three weeks calculating, drawing, and gluing more than 200 sticks. It was lots of fun and teamwork.”
Sponsored by the America Society of Civil Engineers, the tournament was one of many National Engineers Week events designed to lure students toward engineering careers.
In its third year, the contest drew more than 200 participants from 25 Los Angeles County high schools.
They could use only ice cream sticks and white glue to craft bridges, competing for scientific calculators and T-shirts in three categories: strength, load-to-weight ratio and aesthetics.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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