The London Bridge was in Chehalis Thursday, made of cardboard and popsicle sticks.
And though it collapsed under 100-gram weights and a bag of coins, its builders — Karina Lei, Vivianna Blankinship and Sophie Swehosky — were all smiles, as were the dozens of other students who gathered at W.F. West High School for the University of Washington’s annual science, math and engineering (STEM) Camp.
The engineering section, a yearly staple of the camp, is led by students, staff and faculty from the university’s College of Engineering.
Alex Prybutok, a teaching faculty member in the university’s Department of Chemical Engineering, and Eli Williams, a staff member at the College of Engineering Dean's Office, have organized the engineering section and its final competition each of the last four years.
Last year, they tasked students with building their own miniature boats. This year, the students built bridges.
Before Thursday’s competition, students were taught the basic physics behind constructing a bridge, including how to balance force and manage load, as well as types of bridges.
Students then broke into small groups and chose the type of bridge they wanted to build. Some chose truss bridges. Others chose suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges.
To build the bridges, students had to first “buy” materials from a mock store replete with cardboard, plastic cups, glue, popsicle sticks and other recycled items.
“We usually wind up trying to come up with something that's buildable with recycled materials,” Prybutok said. “Because the camp then is also a little bit more sustainable and easier to run.”
Prybutok said she and Williams spent months collecting the materials.
The students’ bridges were ultimately judged on criteria such as length, beauty, balance (or the ability to withstand shaking) and weight.
One challenge tested the number of seated passengers that could travel in a vehicle across the bridge. To compete, students built their own mini-cars and filled them with LEGO figurines.
The students were joined Thursday by state Reps. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, and Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
Williams said the goal of the competition is to create a challenge that combines technical aspects — in this year’s case, the physics of bridge design — with creativity and teamwork.
Swehosky, one of the miniature London Bridge builders, is an upcoming senior at W.F. West and a Running Start student. She said she’s working on an associate degree in biochemical engineering.
Despite the similarity between her studies and the STEM camp lessons, Swehosky said it’s not the only reason she’s attended the summer camp for multiple years.
“I really like the events and I also don’t see my friends very much during the summer, so it gives me a chance to see a bunch of people I haven’t seen (and) I wouldn’t otherwise be seeing,” Swehosky said.
Blankinship, also an upcoming senior at W.F. West, is interested in becoming a neuroimmunologist. Like Swehosky, she credited more than just the camp’s subject matter.
“I also think the environment is really nice,” Blankinship said. “There’s a lot of nice people and I learn a lot of great things here, and I make amazing connections here too.”
The camp, open to students entering grades 9 through 12, is a partnership between the Chehalis Foundation and UW. Other sponsors include the Chehalis School District, Grays Harbor Community Foundation, the Smith Family Foundation, Timberland Bank and the American Association of University Women.
“UW chooses only one location annually for its off‑site STEM Camp, and we’re honored to be selected each year,” Jenny Collins, executive director of the Chehalis Foundation, said in an email to The Chronicle.
This year, the camp’s medicine section was led by UW students and professors from the university's School of Nursing and School of Dentistry.
Collins said 86 students signed up for the camp, which ran from Aug. 3 through Aug. 6.
To learn more about the annual camp, visit https://stemchehalis.org.
