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/Setup | 10:00am – 10:30am |
Bridge-Building | 10:30am – 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/Setup | 8:00am – 8:30am |
Bridge-Building | 8:45am – 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:
- 2023 Results
- 2022 Results
- 2021 Results
- 2020 Results:
- 2019 Results:
- 2018 Pictures
- 2017 Results
- 2016 Results:
- 2015 Results with Pictures:
- 2014 Results with Pictures:
- 2013 Results with Pictures:
- 2012 Results and Pictures:
- 2011 Results and Pictures:
- 2011 Video (5:09)
- 2010 Results and Pictures
- 2009 Pictures
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.