Oakhill College students have built unique bridges in our annual Bridge Building Competition. These bridges were tested on Friday 8 April at the Knysna Waterfront Quays – a wonderful spectator event, determining which design of bridge is the strongest and which team will be crowned bridge building champions. The bridge that carries the most mass, compared to its own mass, is the winner. The challenge is therefore to build the strongest bridge, but to combine lightness with strength to outdo the other teams.
Congratulations to all of this year’s Bridge Building participants! A total of 14 bridges were built by Oakhill College teams made up of 24 boys and 18 girls. The winning team, Johan Hay, Nico Hespeler and Bradley Carroll retain their title from 2015! This year, their bridge had a mass of 138,9 g and was able to carry 95 kg before breaking, a total of 684 times its own mass! Second place was taken by Caitlin Smith, Julia Lamprecht and Courteney Wilkinson and their bridge, with a mass of 112,1 g was able to carry 70 kg before breaking – 642 times its own mass. They were followed by the team of Nic Reid, Victor Dercksen and Louis Maarsingh with a bridge of 100,1 g that carried 55 kg before breaking, that is 549,5 times its own mass.
Knysna Waterfront kindly sponsored the winners prizes. Photos courtesy of Penny Foyn and Oakhill staff
Before the breaking …..
