Battle of the Bridges


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

Register for Saturday

Schedule

Friday, March 1, 2024 (30 Teams/Session)Session 1 (AM)
Session 2 (PM)
Check-In/Setup7:30 – 8:00 AM11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Bridge-Building8:00 – 11:00 AM12:00 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/Setup8:00 – 8:30 AM
Bridge-Building8:45 – 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:

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.