Jason Lindsey is an award winning Outreach Science Educator for Hooked on Science. Each year Lindsey performs science experiments at more than a hundred schools and community events. Lindsey's science segment "Hooked on Science" airs on television stations across America and has earned awards for outstanding science coverage.

MoDOT Bridge Competition

Posted Friday, November 14, 2008, at 9:11 PM

A record number of students from across southeast Missouri will compete in the Missouri Department of Transportation's fifth Annual Bridge Competition on Thursday, November 20th. "Every year, the number of students participating in the competition continues to increase. Last year's record breaking year of 200 participants seemed hard to beat—but this year, a record number of 342 students have signed-up to compete this year," says Craig Compas with MoDOT.

More than 300 bridge kits were delivered to the participating schools during the first week of October. Students were given a bridge kit, which included 20 pieces of balsa wood, a spool of thread, and a bottle of glue. The goal, design and construct the most efficient model bridge—the lightest bridge to carry the greatest load.

All the bridges will be tested on Thursday at Cape West 14 Cine in Cape Girardeau. The competition begins at 9 a.m. and will conclude at approximately 2 p.m.

The first, second, third, and fourth place bridge building winners will earn cash prizes donated by the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers, Cape Girardeau Area Engineers Club, and Southeast Missouri State's Engineering & Physics. "In addition to the top four bridge awards, cash prizes will also be awarded to the winner of the computer-based electronic bridge and for the most aesthetic bridge," says Compass.

Similar to last year, there will also be cash prizes given to the top three schools that compete best overall in the competition. Any school with three or more entries will be eligible for these cash prizes sponsored by Senator Jason Crowell.

In addition to the cash prizes, MoDOT has also partnered with Arkansas State University, Southeast Missouri State University, University of Missouri-Rolla, University of Missouri-Columbia, and Southern Illinois University to offer seniors interested in civil engineering up to $10,000 worth of civil engineering scholarships.

Check out my science blog here at the Southeast Missourian on Thursday for the winners and LIVE coverage of MoDOT's Bridge Competition.

MoDOT Bridge Competition

Comments

Respond to this blog