In the past month, our Eagles have been getting their bridges ready for the 2024 Music City Bridge Building competition facilitated by the American Society of Civil Engineers. In this competition, students must build a Basswood and glue bridge model within the specifications of the contest.

This year, the contest required that the bridge be less than 25 grams, between 100-150 cm tall, at least 35 cm wide, and must contain between a 300-400 cm gap in between the feet. During the competition, the bridge is tested at a randomly selected point being either the center of the bridge, 30 mm out from the center, and 50 mm out from the center. This year, it was decided that each bridge would be tested at 30 mm out from the center.

The bridges were tested on their efficiency rating, a metric defined as the mass (in grams) held by the bridge divided by the mass of the bridge to give a percentage. Once tested, this is what would decide how far the bridges went in the competition. Mr Higgins, our sponsor for the competition, aided our Eagles by utilizing his background in engineering to provide our students with sound structural advice.

As a result, the Eagles brought home the whole podium with Matthew Sanders getting 1st place, Gavin Parrish getting 2nd place, and Andrew Tamayo getting 3rd place! This was a replication of last year in which our Eagles took home the podium last year as well. If you see them in the halls, congratulate them on their victory!