IGLULIK
Using Popsicle sticks and white glue to build a miniature bridge, two teams of high school students in Iglulik finished in the Top 2 during and NWT and Nunavut model bridge building competition in Yellowknife early last month.
Ataguttaaluk High School Grade 11 students Arthur Makkik, left, Kelvin Angutautok and Jennifer Tapardjuk won top honours at the NAPEG 2013 Model Bridge Building Competition last month. The model bridge they built withstood 98.6 kg. - photo courtesy of Ataguttaaluk High school
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In the high school category, Grade 11 students from Ataguttaaluk High School earned the top spot while their counterparts in Grade 10 finished second during the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists 2013 Model Bridge Building Competition.
The bridge Grade 11 students Arthur Makkik, Kelvin Angutautok and Jennifer Tapardjuk built withstood 98.6 kg while the one Grade 10 students Paul-Noah Akittirq, James Iyerak and Wendel Quassa built withstood 93.3 kg when they were judged in Yellowknife last month.
Makkik said they were very surprised and happy they won. He said he would participate again.
"It was mostly fun," he said. "It was easy and fun."
The students had two weeks to build the bridges using only Popsicle sticks and white glue.
The model bridges had to be at least 60 centimetres long, meaning it would span 50 cm, and at least 2 cm wide, explained Earl Crowther, a math teacher at the high school.
He said he showed students different kinds of bridge design and explained their strengths.
"I thought they were going to do really well," said Crowther. "They did a really good job putting the bridges together. It looks really great and their joints were really well made and clamped together. I knew they were going to be very, very strong bridges."
The students showed up after school and kept up with it until it was done, he added.
"Once they decided they were going to do it, they had a great time doing it and they really enjoyed themselves," said Crowther. "It gives them something to focus on, do a small bit of studying and some good hands-on work. It is a really great learning experience, not only working as a team but also being able to make adjustments while you are in the construction stage, realizing if something doesn't work, then you throw it away and start again at a particular section."
