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. 

Shop for Science, Win a NOOK

A bookfair Dec. 9 and 10, hosted by Barnes & Noble in Hickory, will support science education, programs and exhibits at Catawba Science Center (CSC), a nonprofit science museum featuring aquarium exhibits and a digital planetarium theater.

For each purchase made that is accompanied by a bookfair voucher, Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of sales to CSC. Books, magazines, CDS, DVDs and all café consumables are included, as well as the B&N e-ink reader device, NOOK.

Online sales are included, so friends and family that live out of town can shop B&N online Dec. 9 -14 and their purchases will also count. Online sales must include CSC’s bookfair ID – 10512556 – when prompted during checkout.

Bookfair vouchers are available for download at www.CatawbaScience.org, and at CSC, located on the SALT Block,243 Third Ave. NE,Hickory.

Vouchers will also be available at Barnes & Noble inHickoryduring both days of the bookfair. Stop by CSC’s table and register to win a free NOOK Simple Touch e-ink reader and a Barnes & Noble gift card.

CSC staff will also present a variety of science demos throughout the holiday weekend book fair, with special programs on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Dec. 9, joinBruce Beerbower, CSC Naturalist for a live animal presentation in the children’s area starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, catch CSC’s Mad Scientist demos from 12 to 3 p.m. and Extreme Physical Science demos from 8 to 10 p.m.

Don’t miss this opportunity to “Shop for Science” at Barnes & Noble in Hickoryand support your communityScienceCenter. CSC vouchers can be applied to purchases for up to five days following the book fair.

More information at (828) 322-8169, ext. 313 or 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.