Students Test Toothpick Bridges

Competition at UMD was the 24th Annual

DULUTH, Minn. – High school students from across the Northland gathered at the University of Minnesota Duluth Tuesday for the 24th annual Toothpick Bridge Competition.

The contest, hosted by UMD’s Civil Engineering department, challenged kids to build the strongest and most economical bridge possible, using only toothpicks and glue.

“The kids love it,” said John Hinsman, one of the competition judges.  “If you watch the kids as the bridge breaks and you had your camera ready you could catch them all with their feet off the ground at the same time.”

The purpose of the contest was to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing, or STEM.