Middle School Engineering Challenge Weekend 2017: Students Design, Build and Test Truss Bridges
On March 3, SMILE middle school students from around the state gathered at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston
campus for the 2017 SMILE Middle School Engineering Challenge Weekend. This year at Middle School Challenge Weekend SMILE students designed and built truss bridges using bamboo chop sticks and glue. One hundred and thirty-five SMILE students from Central Falls, Pawtucket, Newport, South Kingstown, Westerly, West Warwick, and Woonsocket came onto the University of Rhode Island campus to experience what it’s like to be an Engineer. To build the bridges students needed to work to a set of specifications, work within the limits of a budget, test their design, redesign and make changes, and then watch the structure perform their function. The construction and testing of model bridges promotes the study and application of some fundamental principles in mathematics and physics. This experiential learning activity teaches basic principles of load and force transfer through truss design. The activity also helps students develop teamwork and problem solving skills. They worked with students from other school districts and with college students in science and engineering majors. Very quickly SMILE students learned that the collaborative synergy of the group often produces the best result.
Students arrived early Friday morning at the URI Memorial Union Ballroom, were greeted by URI SMILE staff and organized into
teams. SMILE Director Carol Englander welcomed the students to the University of Rhode Island, explained what engineers do, and presented the specifications of the challenge to design, build, and test a truss bridge. Students first had to draw a full size template of their bridge, with the correct geometry, component lengths, and distance between joints. The bridge had to cover a span of 20 inches, overall length of the bridge was between 22-23 inches and the model bridge had to allow a 4inch wide x 4 inch high block to pass through it over the roadbed. Given a maximum budget and cost of materials, students needed to determine the cost of their bridge and if necessary, modify their design to meet specifications. Construction equipment included bamboo chopsticks, glue guns, cardboard, straws, and Super Easy cutters.
With their URI student mentors, they immediately got busy with team building activities followed by the design and construction phase. There was also a SMILE Construction Accounting Math Challenge. The supplies that teams were given had a cost listed on their inventory sheet. They kept track of expenditures for additional supplies. An accurate account of team expenses was handed in at the end of the Challenge. Students ate lunch in the dining halls and returned to their project. All afternoon, students worked on bridge building, took a break and had dinner at the dining halls, and returned to finish their bridges. Once the models were built, students weighed their bridge, then SMILE teachers from Deering (Eugene Gallo, Christopher Baccei) and Westerly (Rob Brennan, Carolyn Michaud) attached them to “Bridge Buter” testing mechanisms: a bucket attached to a bolt inserted in a wood plank sitting on the roadbed. Weights were added to the bucket until the bridge collapsed. The students determined the bridge efficiency, the mathematical ratio of the weight held by the bridge, to its own weight (load/bridge weight). At the end of the Challenge, teams put their completed bridges on their team tables with the testing results for all to see. The greatest load a bridge held was 66 lbs. Student teams were given recognition for the bridge that was most efficient, most weight held, least cost, and most cost efficient.
The Challenge Weekend is a fun way to visit a college campus and provides an opportunity to get young people interested in science, math and engineering fields of study and careers. SMILE students learned a lot about student life on a college campus, toured the new science buildings: Chemistry, Pharmacy and CBLS (College of Biology and Life Sciences), ate meals in a dining hall, and enjoyed recreation at Tootell Gym. Saturday morning activities included talks by URI tour guides and an “Introduction to preparing for College” presented by Coral Maack, URI Admissions officer, and URI senior Ben Concepcion. Our SMILE Middle School students have put themselves on a path to college and have high expectations for themselves. A huge “THANK YOU” to all our teachers, URI faculty and student mentors, SMILE staff, and sponsors who helped to make this Challenge a wonderful experience.
Check out these 2015 videos SMILE Middle School Students made !!!