Contest bridges engineers and participants for real-world design challenge

A bridge-building contest at Catawba Science Center (CSC) in Hickory on Dec. 10 will bring engineers and participants together to study real-world engineering challenges.

The contest, held in conjunction with CSC’s exhibit Tech City, offers amateur engineers the chance to consult with professionals before constructing a bridge using an assortment of K’Nex pieces.

Kurt Viola, Taylor & Viola Structural Engineers, will be on hand to talk about engineering, careers in the field and challenges to building bridge trusses before the competition gets under way. Bob Lake, a retired systems engineer, and William Clayton, senior designer with Davis and Floyd, Inc., will also help facilitate bridge-building and be on hand to discuss challenges in the field.

The contest goal is to build a bridge that can withstand the greatest amount of weight, which will be measured using a small bucket filled with varying amounts of sand. The bucket will be hung from each bridge entry to test its strength. Bridges will be judged based on a ratio of weight-bearing ability to bridge weight. Prizes will be awarded for the top two entries.

Cost to participate is $3 for CSC members and $5 for nonmembers. Check-in starts at noon in CSC’s Inventor’s Workshop. Pre-registration is encouraged. For more information, or to register, call (828) 322-8169.

CSC sells K’Nex pieces in its Science Shop for participants who want to practice their bridge-building skills at home prior to the contest Dec. 10.

Learn more about Tech City, as well as other CSC exhibits, programs and planetarium shows at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org.

CSC is funded in part by the United Arts Fund of Catawba County and is located in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory.