17th Annual Battle of the Bridge Contest
Friday & Saturday March 1st and 2nd at the Putnam Museum
Streamed Virtual from the Putnam Museum
ALL AGES, with 2-4 people per team
Cost: $25.00 per team
The event is open to any students elementary school up, families, college students, and professionals. A team may consist of one to four 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 Morning – Session 1
Register for Friday Afternoon – Session 2
Schedule
| Friday, March 1, 2024 (30 Teams/Session) | Session 1 (AM) | Session 2 (PM) |
| Check-In/Setup | 7:30 – 8:00 AM | 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM |
| Bridge-Building | 8:00 – 11:00 AM | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
| Load Testing (Available after 2 Hours) | ~10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | ~2:00 PM – 4:30 PM |
| Saturday March 2, 2024 (Walk-Ups Welcomed!!) | Time |
| Check-In/Setup | 8:00 – 8:30 AM |
| Bridge-Building | 8:45 – 11:45 AM |
| Load Testing (Available after 2 Hours) | ~10:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
| Awards Ceremony | ~1:15-1:30 PM |
Live-streamed (Load Testing and Awards):
6 CATEGORIES:
- Professional/Societies (All adults ≥ 18 years old, for bragging rights only!)
- Family (Any combination – kids, adults, seniors, up to one engineer)
- Post-Secondary (Beyond Grades, back from 2015!)
- High School (Grades 9-12)
- Middle School (Grades 7-8)
- Elementary School (Grades 4-6)
Highlights for 2024:
- All team members must know their team name at registration
- Registration Deadline – February 28th
- 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.