MAKE: Blog: Make: Event - bridge building at Ignite Boston

Make: Event - bridge building at Ignite Boston

The first ever Ignite! Boston is going to be a great night of makers, geeks, techies, and innovators hanging out at Tommy Doyle's in Cambridge.

To kick-off our Ignite Boston evening, we're having a MAKE competition--Building Bridges--from 6:20 to 7pm. Come with a set of friends and blueprints, or meet some people at the bar and form an ad hoc team!

After you build your bridges, Mike Hendrickson will be emceeing a great line-up of speakers. There will be plenty of time in the schedule for chit-chat, and a bar where you can buy drinks.

Goal:

Using 1,000 or fewer popsicle sticks, construct a bridge that can withstand more human weight than your competitors' bridges. We'll keep weighing them down until they're destroyed!

Requirements:

Bridge must span 16"; each end will rest on a block.
You must use 1,000 or fewer popsicle sticks (these are provided for you).
Only glue guns may be used to adhere the sticks together. Each team will be provided with at least one glue gun, but bring your own if you have one!
(Feel free to bring your own LEDs, wire, and batteries to make your bridge light up!)

Contest judging will take place at 8:45, so your bridge will have lots of time to dry.

Prize:

Bragging rights! (Oh, and, a mystery prize will be awarded to the winning team!)

Related:

Ignite Boston - Link
Ignite Seattle Builds Bridges Between The Movers, Shaker, Innovators, and Makers of the Northwest - Link

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: bilbojaggens on May 30, 2007 at 8:07 AM

I'm currently doing this with my physics students. They get 50 Popsicle sticks, a glue gun, and 30 minutes. Their bridges must span at least 50 cm and incorporate a removable hook to hold a 5-gallon bucket. The team that holds the most water wins. Every other team gets a fraction of the winners' score.

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