To help celebrate Queensland Engineering Week (QEW), the CQU James Goldston Faculty of Engineering & Physical Systems and the Institution of Engineers Australia cooked up a storm of carbohydrates with a spaghetti bridge building competition this week.

QEW, which runs from May 10 to 17, is designed to promote the significant benefits of engineering to the community and to show students the diverse and exciting career options that engineering offers.

There were three competition categories - primary school, secondary school and CQU students. Students were required to build a bridge from spaghetti bonded together using a liquid adhesive. The bridge had to be as light as possible, but strong enough to carry a 0.9kg toy truck over the track. There was much broken pasta and shattered bridges during the day, but all students enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

The bridge building exercise aimed to promote the creativity, fun and fascination of engineering and its importance to students in a novel and practical way. The competition also encouraged students to see and experience engineering first hand and use key skills essential for engineers - using ingenuity, problem solving and teamwork skills.

Photo above: A student from the Rockhampton’s Hall State School prepares his bridge for testing.

Photo left: The aftermath of one unsuccessful test attempt.