Future Engineers Use Their Noodles to Build Bridges from Spaghetti (PHOTOS)

UPDATED, 1:30 p.m., July 25:

Teens build a spaghetti bridge to test how much weight it can bear at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus.
PHOTO | Ellen Poltilove

The winning bridge in the Spaghetti Bridge Contest held July 25 at the Montgomery County campus of Johns Hopkins University held 62 pounds.

The winning Rockville team included teens: Sriyuth Sagi, Anthony Garay, JJ Bravo, according to Ellen Poltilove
Communications Manager, Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus.

The contest tested the teens engineering abilities to build a bridge using dry spaghetti and epoxy that will hold as much weight as possible.

ORIGINAL POST-

Approximately 35 teens will compete in the annual, tension-filled Spaghetti Bridge Contest on July 25 at the Montgomery County campus of Johns Hopkins University in Rockville.

The competition marks the culmination of a four-week summer engineering program. Using only dry spaghetti and epoxy, students have designed and built bridges that the contest will test. Kilo by kilo, weight will be added to the bridges until they shatter. Prizes will be awarded to teams whose bridges hold the most weight. The record stands at 132 pounds.

The Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering created the summer program entitled, Engineering Innovation, to expose high school students to the disciplines of engineering.

During the summer session, the students learn to think critically and problem-solve. Since the program’s launch in 2006, more than 80 percent of participants have gone on to pursue careers in science and engineering. Of the 1,951 students who’ve completed the program to date, 31 percent were women, 16 percent African American and 16 percent Latino/Hispanic.

About Staff Writer

View all posts by Staff Writer