2023 Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest

2023 Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest

The 2023 ASCE Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest will take place Sunday, February 12, 2023 at the Dewey Gottwald Center of the Science Museum of Virginia! We are asking for volunteers/outreach at this time to help with the RJEC CEI day that encourages middle and high school students to engage in engineering activities. Our branch is returning to host the annual popsicle stick bridge contest, and we need volunteers to help with each of the shifts during the event. Please email Isabelle Stern at isstern@sgh.com for details and to sign up as a volunteer.

The Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition (PSBC) is an exciting event for high school and middle school students hosted by ASCE’s Richmond Branch as a part of the Richmond Joint Engineering Council’s Celebrating Engineering Ingenuity (CEI) Day. The event brings together hundreds of local students to participate in a full-day competition to celebrate the engineering profession and highlight their achievements. The competition is a great opportunity to emphasize the benefits of pursuing higher education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while promoting the engineering profession in our community. More information about CEI day can be found at https://www.rjec.org/.

Prior to the event day, participating high school and middle school teams will test their engineering skills and build bridges out of Popsicle sticks that will be subject to rigorous standards and load testing. The rules and specifications are posted below. Volunteers from the ASCE chapter and the civil engineering profession will serve as judges measuring and testing the bridges as well as reviewing papers submitted for the Innovation Contest and providing insight into the professional industry for students wishing to pursue a career in civil engineering.

Best of luck to everyone participating!