Civil engineers of the future have had their designs tested and judged as part of a Bridge Building Celebration Day.
STEM Ambassador and Rochester Bridge Trust Education Officer Caroline Chisholm took part in a day of bridge activities at Northfleet Technology College, and was impressed by what she saw.
Caroline explained: “I was invited to the all-boys school to judge the outcome of several lessons of bridge building by Year 8 pupils. I really enjoyed the event and found it interesting to see how the school had approached the task.
“It was also good to be given the opportunity to speak to the boys, telling them why I’m so keen to encourage the next generation of bridge builders and explaining how different the many paths into engineering can be.”
Caroline was joined by two other judges: a retired civil engineer who had been involved in the construction of the London Olympic stadium, and a graduate trainee from Transport for London. The trio each gave a presentation about their work before taking part in three sessions of bridge judging.
The bridges were judged on cost, look, strength and overall winner, with prizes including rulers, sweets and Bluewater vouchers.
If you would like to know more about bridge building activities, or to download the Trust’s free book of lesson plans, click here.