Photos courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation invites all North Carolina middle and high schools to participate in its 16th annual Model Bridge Building Competition. The contest is designed to give students a hands-on opportunity to apply their science, technology, engineering and math skills to a real-world scenario.
Franklin Academy High School in Wake Forest and Polk County Middle School in Mills Springs were the big winners in last year’s competition. For a downloadable PDF of all 2008 – 2014 Model Bridge Building Competition, click here.
NCDOT began the NCDOT Statewide Model Bridge Building Competition in the spring of 2000, along with the agency’s industry partners, the Carolinas’ Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina.
The agency says that members from each of the organizations serve as judges at each of the regional and final competitions.
“The goal of the competition is to hone student’s math and science skills,” Gail Herring, program coordinator with NCDOT, says in a written statement. “Hopefully it will encourage them to choose the transportation industry as a career.”
Photos courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The NCDOT says the agency is designed to create a greater awareness of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and its relationship to transportation careers provided by the agency by providing an opportunity to use problem solving strategies and critical thinking, enhance communication skills, and apply research and presentation skills.
The event features teams of students designing and building a model bridge. The bridges are tested by NCDOT engineers, with the engineers and representatives of engineering companies serving as the judges. See the Model Bridge Building event video here.
Teams will first compete at the regional level in Winterville, Raleigh, Asheboro and Morganton on March 20, 2015. The finals will take place in Raleigh on April 17.
For a downloadable PDF of the 2015 Bridge Competition Guidelines, click here.
For a downloadable PDF of the bridge competition frequently asked questions, click here.
To register for the completion, go to http://www.ncdot.gov/programs/BridgeComp/default.html.
For more information on the contest or on registering for it, contact Gail Herring, program coordinator for the NCDOT – HR/Talent Management.
1517 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1517
Phone: 919-707-4442
Fax: 919-715-3469
Email: [email protected]
Timeline for the 2015 Bridge Competition:
Sequence of Events
Registration deadline:Extended to Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Reports and Drawings Due for Regionals:Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Submit one PDF file of your original written report and design drawings for the report; it should be emailed to [email protected] by 10 a.m. ET No late reports will be accepted.
*Regional Competitions will begin at 9am.Friday, March 20, 2015
Adverse weather date: Friday, March 27, 2015
See map for Regional Competition locations
Reports and Drawings Due for Finals. Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Whether or not a team chooses to change or update their report and drawings from the regional competition, one PDF file of your written report and design drawings for the report are due on this date. No late reports will be accepted.
*Final Competition will be held in Raleigh beginning at 9 a.m. ET Friday, April 17, 2015
*Competitions: Due to space limitations at the facilities where the competitions are held, please notify Gail Herring with the NCDOT if your group, including students, teachers and chaperones, is larger than 20 people.
