Ever wonder what those G7 Students have been doing with all those toothpicks in Math class? Do they have incredibly clean teeth? Well, maybe they do, or maybe they don’t, but one thing’s for sure, over the last week they’ve been designing, constructing, and building some of the strongest toothpick bridges on the planet.
In order to build these bridges they formed companies of 3 to 4 students. Each company had a Project Director, an Architect, a Transportation Chief, an Accountant, and a Carpenter. They’ve been running all aspects of bridge building from designing, to buying materials, to budgeting costs, to actually building the bridges. All they have is toothpicks (lumber), white glue (welding material), land (stiff flat white plastic sheets), and their own ingenuity to make it happen. Their goal is to cross a river with the strongest, most economical, environmentally friendly bridge they can muster up.
From beginning to end this project has been an amazing learning experience. Most of the companies have had a few struggles along the way. As quoted by Mr. Adams, “There were opportunities for students to learn project management. Several learned the need for detailed planning. I would hope that they will reflect on the challenges and consider how they will manage their resources better in any project in the future.”
These bridges were judged this week on: 1. How well the design plans match the actual bridge construction and 2. Overall strength. 3. How well each student completed their job. Below are the Toothpick Bridge Building Contest results.
Transportation Chief Award goes to: Wa-aam
Accountant Award goes to: Sulaiman
Carpenter Award goes to: Jaira
Project Director Award goes to: Zyrelle
Bridge Plans Award goes to: Bob the Builders! (Hannah – Architect)
STRONGEST BRIDGE – The MEH Group!
