Model Bridge Contest to be Held at Brookhaven Lab, March 6, 2004

March 27, 2004

EVENT: Destructive testing of model bridges will provide a great photo opportunity as Suffolk County high school students compete in the 2004 BNL Model Bridge Contest. Media representatives are invited to attend. About 300 students, parents and teachers will be present and available for interviews. The event is closed to the general public because of space limitations. All visitors to the Laboratory age 16 and over must bring a photo ID.

WHEN: Saturday, March 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

WHERE: Berkner Hall, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Lab is located on William Floyd Parkway (County Road 46), one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.

DETAILS: Over 300 high school students from 18 schools in Suffolk County have entered the 2004 Model Bridge Contest. (Attached is a list of participating schools.) The students designed and constructed model bridges according to certain size and weight specifications, with the goal being to build the lightest bridge that supports the most weight. Materials were restricted to basswood and glue.

Brookhaven engineers will test the bridges by determining how long they remain intact under the pressure of a machine called a stress tester. The bridges are required to be no longer than 400 millimeters, no taller than 80 millimeters, and they must weigh 45 grams or less. Some are very intricate and attractive.

The first- and second-prize winners will be eligible to enter the 2004 International Bridge Building Contest, which will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 24.

The contrast between the delicate basswood bridges and the machinery used to test them provides excellent visuals. Students, parents and teachers will be present for the testing, and the media are invited to attend.

2004-10152  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom