Battle of the Bridges

18th Annual Battle of the Bridges Contest

Friday & Saturday March 7th and 8th  at the Putnam Museum

Streamed Virtual from the Putnam Museum
ALL AGES, with 1-4 people per team
Cost: $30.00 per team

The event is open to any students elementary school and up, families, college students, and professionals. A team may consist of 1 to 4 people, where all team members must be signed up on the registration form.

OBJECTIVE: Build a model bridge using the prescribed tools and provided materials with the greatest structural efficiency.

Rules, Tools, and Materials

Instruction Video

Facebook Livestream

Register for Friday (link coming soon)

Register for Saturday (link coming soon)

Schedule

Friday, March 7, 2025 (50 team limit)Time
Check-In/Setup10:00am – 10:30am
Bridge-Building10:30am – 1:30pm
Load Testing (Available after 2 Hours)12:30pm ~ 2:30pm
Saturday, March 8, 2025 (50 team limit)
Walk-Ups Welcome!
Time
Check-In/Setup8:00am – 8:30am
Bridge-Building8:45am – 11:45am
Load Testing (Available after 2 Hours)10:45am ~ 1:15pm
Awards Ceremony (All Divisions)~1:15pm – 1:30pm

Live-streamed (Load Testing and Awards):

6 CATEGORIES:

  • Professional/Societies (2 or more engineers or society professionals)
  • Family (Any combination – kids, adults, seniors, one engineer or college student) – see Rule #12
  • College (2 or more students beyond 12th grade)
  • High School (Grades 9-12)
  • Middle School (Grades 7-8)
  • Elementary School (Grades 4-6)

Highlights for 2025:

  • Registration Deadline – Tuesday, March 4, 2025
  • Walk-Ups welcome for Saturday, March 8 only (on a space-available bases, 8-8:30am)
  • All team members must be identified on the registration form by Tuesday, March 4, 2025
  • Details of the Live Stream options will be made available closer to the event.
  • Masking will be voluntary during the event
  • Bridge 101.ppt (link to video) (1)

Pictures from previous years


Information From Previous Bridge Events:

Battle of the Bridge History:
In 2008, the Quad City Engineering and Science Council sponsored it’s first bridge building contest as part of a series of workshops supporting the Da Vinci Exhibit at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.  Based on the success of the contest, this is now an annual event.