First, there was a creak. Then a crack. Finally, a crash as the toothpick bridges broke under the weight of a maximum load.
The bridges were a design-and-build project of the Clarkson University Extended Day Program, a partnership with St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. Approximately 70 students took part in the challenge which culminated in a campus visit to test the load-bearing capacity of the bridges. Dylan Caratsole, a sixth-grader at Edwards-Knox Central School, took first place with a load of 5.7 pounds. Close behind with a second-place finish were fifth-grader Ariana Kingsley and sixth-grader Gavin LaPage from Lisbon Central School.
Each week, Clarkson student mentors engage fifth through eighth-grade students in six local school districts in pre-engineering projects. Students learn about green energy, circuitry, robotics, coding, and other topics. The Extended Day Program is funded by a violence prevention grant from the New York State Education Department. The program is in its 9th year and has served over 1500 students.
Click here for a shareable link: https://www.clarkson.edu/news/area-students-build-toothpick-bridges-clarkson-university
