Provincial Engineering & Geoscience Week

4 | W I N N I P E G F R E E P R E S S P R O V I N C I A L E N G I N E E R I N G & G E O S C I E N C E W E E K It's likely more than 700 students will take part in this year's Spaghetti Bridge Competition as part of Provincial Engineering and Geoscience Week. Photo by Leif Anderson I t's a moniker that — at least, initially — can evoke blank stares: Spaghetti Bridge Competition. Spaghetti Bridge? What's that? Turns out, you need to take the name literally to get an accurate picture of what it's all about, says Gemma Keatch, Communications & Events Co-ordinator for Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba. "It's a competition for school-aged students that involves building a truss that's made of regular spaghetti put together with either white or wood glue," she explains, adding that the 2018 event will mark the competition's 23rd year. "Competitions take place for each grade from kindergarten to Grade 12. Simply put, the truss that holds the most weight in each grade wins a prize." This year — as has been the case for the past number of years — the competition will be held at centre court in Kildonan Place Mall from March 8-10. Keatch says entries have been pouring in. "At this point (first week of February), we're already looking at over 600 students coming out for the competition on Thursday and Friday (which is reserved for school groups only). I think there's a good possibility that over 700 students will have participated over the three days once everything is said and done. The competition on Saturday (March 10) is open to anyone from kindergarten to Grade 12." Suffice to say, a good deal of preparation goes into the creation of the trusses. "Many projects are quite elaborate," she says. "A good amount of planning is necessary, as certain dimensions are involved (minimum and maximum widths and heights) — the bridges have to be a certain size to fit into the bridge-breaking machine. Usually, teams (of up to three students) put a lot of work into them; many work on them for weeks on end leading up to the competition. The competitors really get into it." The competition proper is quite a sight: the bridge-breaking machine front-and-centre on stage, surrounded by a horde of cheering kids. "They absolutely love it. When it's their turn for their project to go on the bridge-breaking machine, they put on protective goggles, so they can watch their bridge up close, the numbers on the machine ticking up as more weight is applied to the bridge," Keatch says. "There's tons of suspense. It's a lot of fun." Make no mistake about it, these bridges are the real deal, she adds. "Last year, students from Shaftesbury High School built a bridge that finally broke under 192.7 kilograms (or nearly 424 pounds) of pressure. That's very impressive. It speaks to the quality of the bridges that the students are building." While the competition is fun, there's a purpose to conducting it, says Keatch. "It's one of our primary outreach activities. We're looking to encourage the next generation of engineers by giving them hands-on experience. We want them to own their projects from the beginning and learn about engineering principles in an interactive manner." At the same time, genuine, practising engineers are also on hand to act as judges and encourage kids. "For many students, it's their first opportunity to take part in a challenging project with professionals on hand," she notes. "They get to interact with the engineers and speak with them about how their truss looked and performed; they really appreciate the feedback. It helps instil the idea of being an engineer in kids' minds." Best of all, students aren't the only ones who benefit from the competition. "Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba will donate one dollar per kilogram for every kilogram of weight that contest entries hold up during the 2018 competition," says Keatch. "There will also be bins available at the competition site for Tin for The Bin donations. All proceeds will go straight to Winnipeg Harvest." For more information on the Spaghetti Bridge Competition — which is part of a series of events that celebrate Provincial Engineering and Geoscience Week (PEGW) — visit enggeomb.ca/SpaghettiBridge.html. ❚ Can you master the pasta? By Todd Lewys for the Free Press

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