2011POPSICLE

STICKBRIDGE
BUILDING
COMPETITION

RULEBOOK

Revision:0
1/26/2011

TableofContents
I.

SCORING................................................................................................................................................3
A.Strength................................................................................................................................................3
B.Aesthetics..............................................................................................................................................3

II.

DIMENSIONSANDRULES......................................................................................................................4
A.Construction.........................................................................................................................................4
B.Dimensions............................................................................................................................................4
C.Rules......................................................................................................................................................5
D.HelpfulHints.........................................................................................................................................5

III.

MATERIALSANDCOMPONENTS.......................................................................................................6

A.BridgeMaterials....................................................................................................................................6
B.BridgeDeckMaterial............................................................................................................................6
C.BannerMaterials...................................................................................................................................6
IV.

BRIDGETESTING................................................................................................................................7

A.Priortocompetition.............................................................................................................................7
B.BridgeLoadTesting...............................................................................................................................7
V. PRIZES..............................................................................................................................................8
A.Places....................................................................................................................................................8
VI.

CONTACTS.........................................................................................................................................9

A.General.................................................................................................................................................9
B.Questions..............................................................................................................................................9

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I. SCORING

Scoringwillbethesameforallcategories.

A.Strength

Thebridgecapableofthehighestloadwillwinthestrengthcategory.Eachcategorywill
haveaprize;outofthethree(3)categoriesthestrongestbridgewillreceiveanotherprize.The
strengthtestwillbedoneasdescribedinsectionIV.BRIDGETESTING(Page7).

B.Aesthetics

Thefullnameoftheschool,gradeandteamnamemustappearonthebridge,ona
bannerattachedtothebridge.Thelettersaretobeatminimumof10mmhigh.Itshouldbein
placeonthebridgebeforeregistration.

Inadditiontothename,otherfactorsthatwillbeconsideredinjudgingincludegeneral
appearance,balanceandproportionofthedesign,innovation,andfinish.

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II. DIMENSIONSANDRULES

A.Construction

Thebridgemustbeconstructedbytheparticipants(students).Failuretofollowthis
constructionrulewillresultindisqualification.

B.Dimensions

Thebridgemustbeabletospan500mm,bemorethan100mmwide,200mmhigh,and
protrudenomorethan50mmbelowthebottomofthebridgedeck.Thebridgemustalsobe
freefromsupportby30mmoneachside.Thebridgedeckmustbecoveredinconstruction
paper(toallowaMatchboxsizedcarrollacross(seesectionC.Rulesformoredetails).

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C.Rules
1. ThebridgemustconformtoA.ConstructionandB.Dimensions.
2. Thecompletebridgeistocontainamaximumof100Popsiclesticksjoinedtogetherwithall
purpose,nontoxicglue(note:crazyandindustrialgluearenotpermitted).Whiteglueisthe
onlygluepermitted.
3. Popsiclesticksmaybecut.
4. AMatchbox/HotWheelssizedtoycarmustbeabletoberolledacrossthebridgeonthebridge
deck.Thecarisapproximately3.5cmwideand2cminheight.
5. Pinning,clampingornonwhitegluearenotallowedtobeusedforconnections.Failureto
abidebythisrulewillresultindisqualification.
6. Thebannermustbeclearlyvisible.Formoreinformationonthelabel,seesectionI.Scoring.
7. Thebridgemusthaveclearancetoinserttheloadingbar.SizescanbefoundinsectionIV.
BridgeTesting

D.HelpfulHints

Giveyourselfplentyoftime;dontwaituntilthelastminutetobuildyourbridge.
Thegluewillneedatleast24hourstodryandwillgetstrongerifallowedtodry
for2daysormore.Also,woodjointsarealwaysstrongerifyouclampthemtight
whilethegluedriestryusingbigpaperclipstoclampthestickstogether
(clampsmustberemovedbeforecompetition).

Forbridgeideaslookaroundatrealbridges.APopsiclestickbridgeisofcourse
muchsmaller,butthesameprinciplesapply(theimportantpartisnotthedeck,
butthesteelorconcretestructurethatsupportsit).Lookparticularlyatrailway
trussbridges,butalsoatbridgeslikethePortMannBridge,theSecondNarrows
Bridge,andtheQueensboroughBridge.TheLionsGateBridgeandAlexFraser
Bridgearenotgoodexamplestofollowbecausetheyrelyoncables.

ResearchtheInternetandyourlocallibraryforbridgereference
informationtohelpyourdesign.

Yourbridgeneedstohaveasolid,stiffshape.NoticehowaPopsiclestickis
muchstifferandstrongerwhenonitsedge.Abunchofsticksgluedtogetherflat,
likearaft,hasverylittlestrengthandwillsagduringtesting.Thestrongest
structuralshapeisthetriangle.

Abridgethatissymmetricalislesslikelytotwistwhenloadedandhencewillprobably
carrymoreload.

Ifyouarentsureifyourbridgewillbestable,testityourselfspanitacrosstwo
tablessetabout500mmapart,andpressdownonthetopofthebridgeinthe
middleofthespan.

Inpastyearswinningbridgesatthiscompetitionheldover300kg(660pounds).
Therecordforabridgewithonly100sticksis321.9kg(710pounds)!

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III. MATERIALSANDCOMPONENTS

DurabilityandConstructability

A.BridgeMaterials

Thematerialforthebridgeconstructionwillbeprovided:

1) 1,Packof100PopsicleSticks.
2) 1,4ozBottleofwhiteglue.

Ifthereismorethanone(1)groupfromaschoolpercategorytheymustprovidetheir
ownPopsiclesticksandglue.Thegluemustbewhiteglue.ThePopsiclesticksusedmustbe
withinthefollowingspecifications:

1) 113mmLong.
2) 10mmWide.
3) 1.5mmThick.

B.BridgeDeckMaterial

Constructionpaper(notprovided)willbeusedtomakethebridgedeck,ensureitisa
flat,singlesheetandwillallowaMatchbox/HotWheelssizedcartorollacross.The
constructionpapershouldbeHilroybrand,item#25305,9x12.Useonlythethicknessofone
sheetforthedeckofthebridge.

C.BannerMaterials

Materialsneededfortheschoolnameandgradebannerwillnotbeprovided.Any
materialcanbeusedaslongasthebannerdoesnotbecomeastructuralpartofthebridge.
Teamsusingthebannerasastructuralpartofbridgewillbedisqualified.
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IV. BRIDGETESTING

A.Priortocompetition
Judgeswill:
Weigheachbridgetoensurethatamaximumof100sticksareused.
ExamineeachbridgetoensurethatonlyPopsiclesticks,whiteglueandconstruction
paperareusedandthattheconstructionpaperisonlyusedforthebridgedeck.
Ensureeachbridgehasateambannerandhasnostructuraleffect.
Checkeachbridgetoensureithasaloadinggapasperspecifications(Listedbelow).
CheckbridgethatthereisadeckandthataMatchboxcarcanpassacrossthebridge.

Bridgesnotmeetingtheserequirementsmaybedisqualifiedfromthecompetition.

B.BridgeLoadTesting
Thebridgewillbeloadedviaoneloadingbar.Toaccommodatetheloadingbar,a30
mmx30mmgapmustbeprovidedbetweentheverticalmembersofthebridgeatthecenter
(seefigurebelow).Thegapistobecontinuousthroughouttheentirewidthofthebridgeand
mustallowthebartositdirectlyonthebridgedeck.
Note:Testingwillresultinmostorallbridgesbeingdestroyed,sotakeyourpicturesbefore!

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(BridgeLoadTestingcontinued)

V. PRIZES
A.Places
PrizeCategories

Thestrongestthreebridgesineachofthethreecategoriesabove/1stprizeis$500.
Thestrongestoverallbridge/1stprizeis$500fortheclass.TheTrophyofExcellenceforBridge
DesignandInnovationgoestothewinnersschooluntilthenextcompetition.Itwillbeengraved
withthewinnersteamandschoolname.
Themostinnovativedesign/1stprizeis$200.

Additionalprizesmaybeawardedforotherplaces.

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VI. CONTACTS
A.General
ForRegistration,SuppliesandRulebookcontactCarolynLittmannat:

administration@lapointeeng.comor2506309252ext.121.

B.Questions
ForquestionsregardingthecompetitionpleasecontactyourlocalAPEGbranchmember:

Members of The Northern Branch APEGBC

Contacts for Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition
Location

Title

Name

Email

Telephone

Kitimat /
Haida Gwaii

Chair

Mark Gravel, P.Eng.

mark.gravel@lapointe-eng.com

(250) 639-9252 x187

Smithers

Vice Chair

Mark Allen, P.Eng.

mallen@smithers.ca

(250) 847-1600

Prince Rupert

(Prince Rupert)
Member at
Large

Jamie Malthus, EIT.

jmalthus@rupertport.com

(250) 627-5618

Terrace

(Terrace)
Member at
Large

Christopher
Houston, EIT.

chouston@mcelhanney.com

(250) 635-7163

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