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(Sault Ste. Marie, ON March 10, 2023) – Today, ӣ����Ƶ in partnership with Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) held its annual Bridge Building Competition offering anexperiential learning opportunity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).This year’s competition drew 360 balsa wood bridges from students from grades 4-12, as well as younger and older entries through the open category.

Students designed, created, and submitted the balsa wood bridge of their choice and competed against their fellow classmates for prizes and bragging rights. The event was livestreamed to all participating classrooms. “We were once again impressed by the tremendous interest from area schools and students, and the bridges that were submitted,” said Marc Pilon, P.Eng – Professor/Coordinator of the Civil Engineering and Construction at ӣ����Ƶ. “We livestreamed the competition after receiving positive feedback from teachers and students last year. This was a great opportunity for students to watch the results of all their hard work alongside their peers,” Pilon added.

Students who place top 10 in each category are awarded a cash prize ranging from $200 for first place to $20 for tenth. Bridges were scored based on a load to weight ratio to encourage students to use their materials efficiently.

Congratulations to the top three finishers of each category for the 2023 Bridge Building Competition:

Grade 4/5:

1st – Beau Derby-Shire, grade 5, Tarentourus

2nd – Mia Gallo, grade 5, Tarentourus

3rd - Emily Barry, Hailey McColman, grade 5, Thessalon

Grade 6-8:

1st – Skyler Corbett, grade 8, Ben R McMullin

2nd – Callie Brood, grade 6, Tarentorus

3rd – Charlotte Piccolo, grade 7, Grandview

Grade 9-12:

1st – Mitchell Harris, grade 12, Korah

2nd – Cole Carella, grade 12, Korah

3rd – Maddison Cowen, grade 11, Korah

Further prizes were also awarded:

Construction Award Sponsored by Pioneer Construction: Vaylee-Rayne Sarrasin (Grade 6 Tarentorus)

Engineering Award Sponsored by Norquay Engineering: Jesse Post and Jack Nori (Grade 11 Korah)

Architecture Award Sponsored by IDEA Inc.: Elijah Sagutch-Wesley (Grade 5 Kiwedin)

“Once again our community partner involvement has elevated what we are able to provide as a STEM activity for our area students,” said Pilon. “Our main event sponsors ӣ����Ƶ, Professional Engineers Ontario, PUC Services Inc., AWIC, as well as Evolugen play a pivotal role in assisting with the costs to run such an exciting event by making it an affordable activity for classrooms. Thank you to all our sponsors for the incredible support.”

To meet the unprecedented demand in the construction and engineering industry, ӣ����Ƶ offers learning opportunities in Civil Engineering Technology, Construction Techniques, as well as Construction Project Management to support students interests in this exciting career!  For more information, visit www.saultcollege.ca.

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