Quad City Museum Hosting Battle Of The Bridges

In 2008, the Quad City Engineering and Science Council sponsored its first-ever bridge-building contest at the Putnam Museum in Davenport. The success of that first year was so exciting that the organizers created the official Battle of The Bridges annual event. 

On Friday, February 24th and Saturday, February 25th, the Putnam Museum will once again host the Quad City Engineering and Science Council's 16th Annual Battle of the Bridges bridge-building contest. School-age kids all the way up to professional engineers will compete in this event to put their engineering skills to the test.

The objective is to build a wooden-model bridge using provided tools and materials, within three hours, and the greatest structural efficiency. Teams may consist of two to four people, all team members registered to a specific team name of their choosing. Entry fees cost just $25 for the whole team.

Here's a three free team name ideas for you:

• Sup Bridges?
• Bridges Be Crazy
• Bridge, Please

QCESC’s Jeff Melvin, a professional engineer for Constellation, has been the Director of this event for 10 of its 16 years.

“This event is a way for participants to get more hands-on experience and introduces skills that are essential to being successful in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math),” he said. “Engineer or not, everyone is familiar with bridges –the Quad Cities has many – and that’s what makes this contest fun for all!”

Teams break into six categories:

• Professional / Society (All Adults over 18 Years Old)
• Families (Kids, adults, seniors, and up to one engineer)
• Post-Secondary (Beyond grades (like college))
• High School (Grade 9-12)
• Middle School (Grades 7-8)
• Elementary School (Grades 4-6)

“Our goal is to get more families involved on Saturday, February 25,” says Melvin. “The school age categories are already at capacity for Friday, February 24, so we are targeting families at this stage and hope to make this our most successful year yet.”

If you'd like to sign up, visit QCESC's website.