CP Engineering spotlight!

How much can 16 Popsicle sticks really hold? 

One group in CP Engineering design seminar put this to the test

In Mr Deloche’s engineering class, each group was given 16 popsicle sticks, 8 thin wooden dowels, two sheets of paper, a glue stick, and two hot glue sticks. The students were told they must build something that will hold at least 20 pounds, and whichever group’s structure hold the most weight gets the top grade. 

One group, Colbie Aleszczyk, Isabella (Atlas) Girandola, Gavin McCaw, and Gavin Torrente, took it further than anyone thought possible. 

Why Does This Project Exist?

Mr. Deloche runs this build every year as a warm-up for the scale model houses students make later in the course. The point is to show how much preparation, accuracy, and precision matter when you’re building something that has to carry a load.

The rules were simple. The structure had to be at least 6 inches tall and hold a minimum of 20 pounds. Students could use only a ruler, pencil, scissors, wire cutters, and a hot glue gun. The dowels were 24 inches long and just 1/8 inch thick.

Twenty pounds was only the minimum, though. The grade came down to who could hold the most, making this project exciting and competitive for each group.  The existing class record was 185 pounds.

The Preparation

The group members did not jump right into gluing. They started by reading articles on stable structures and weight-bearing support beams. The group says that most of their inspiration came from steel support frames, the kind of engineering behind bridges and buildings. With very little materials and no chance to start over, planning mattered just as much as the building itself

Test Day 

The day of testing the structure, the weight was added one at a time. The group felt confident about their design and expected it to hold at least 100lbs. When the total climbed past that mark, the structure just kept standing. 

In the end, it held 245lbs!

Group member Colbie Alezszcyk says “I was proud that it was able to withstand the full amount of test weight. I enjoy the process of having a task to solve and finding solutions to the problem." Colbie plans to attend a 4 year university to study engineering. 

The Bottom Line

Some popsicle sticks and dowels held it far more than it had any right to. Good engineering isn’t about having the most materials. It’s about doing your homework and building with care, and this group proved it.

Want to watch the video? CLICK HERE