Front Range Christian School represented itself very well at the 45th annual Professional Engineers of Colorado (PEC) bridge building contest. FRCS came in a respectable second place behind perennial favorite Cherry Creek high school (one of the largest schools in the state). Our three bridges were in the top ten. Tyler Rossi finished a very respectable fourth place over all.
Background
For two weeks, the physics class focused on building a breaking bass wood bridges. Prior to the contest, students were to submit two designs for bridges - these were full scale drawings, done in blue print format declaring all dimensions, materials etc. I discussed the merits of each design and encouraged modifications prior to instruction. Wood and glue were provided to each student who took the raw materials and constructed a bridge according to specifications posted by the PEC. After the end of 10 class periods the students bridges were tested. The mass of each bridge was carefully measured and the mass that the bridge held as well.
The bridges were graded on efficiency; the mass of the bridge divided into the mass it held. Several of our bridges held well over 2,000 times their own weight! Imagine a bridge that weighed less than half an ounce that could support over 50 pounds. Several students were able to construct and test more than one bridge during that time span. The three students who finished with the highest efficiency were encouraged to build another bridge to enter into the state contest. [When I was a high school senior 40+ years ago, I attended the same event as a contestant.] We finished second place to Cherry Creek high school who typically does very well. Our kids did a remarkable job for their first experience. I expect to see an overall improvement for next year.
By the way, if any readers have an old pedestal drill press that they would like to donate to the science department - we'd gladly take it because it would make testing of our bridges much more precise. The electrical portion of the drill press does not need to be functional, but the important part would be the pedestal press that would allow us to apply even pressure on the bridges would be very helpful.
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| FRCS students just before going through the inspection phase |
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| Connor posing for a photo for PEC |
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| Tyler's bridge in the testing aparatus |
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| The whole gang in front of a 4-million ton press that had just broken a column of cement |
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| Tyler and Connor receive 2nd place school recognition |
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| Tyler and his fourth overall award |
