Jonathan and Daniel were the first to be called up on stage. The engineer placed the load block and an "S" hook on the main spar of the bridge. Then he hung a 5 gallon bucket on the "S" hook.
The boys were told to scoop sand with a small plastic container from a large bucket and pour it slowly into the bucket hanging onto their bridge. They were supposed to keep pouring sand into the bucket until the bridge broke.
The goal was to see which bridge had the highest "Structure Stability Score," which is calculated by the ratio of the total load divided by the weight of the bridge in ounces. In the photo below, the bridge was bearing approximately 40 pounds of sand!
The head engineer couldn't believe that the boys ran out of sand in the original bucket, so he ran to get more sand as they kept pouring. The audience held its collective breath; it didn't seem possible for a toothpick bridge to hold that much weight!
The next shot was taken just seconds before the bridge snapped. If you look closely, you can see the bucket handle deforming from the weight of the sand.
Snap! The toothpick bridge finally gave way to thunderous applause. After all the bridges were tested, the engineer announced that Jonathan and Daniel's bridge had won first place! Their bridge weighed 1.3 ounces and was able to bear over 53 pounds of sand, earning a Structure Stability Score of over 623 points!
Congratulations, boys!
Edited to add: Marcie Taylor wrote an online article for OC Family Magazine about the boys' win at the toothpick bridge competition. Check it out: Building Bridges, Nurturing Dreams at the Discovery Science Center.
"For who has despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10
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