Local middle school students met Friday to compete to build the strongest spaghetti structure at the Abbotsford Art Centre.
Students from each middle school in the district, and students from Barrowtown elementary, participated in the 7th annual Abbotsford school district spaghetti bridge contest.
The contest challenged small teams to construct a bridge made of only spaghetti noodles and glue. To win, the bridge must be stable enough to support a one-kilogram weight for one minute. The lightest structure to hold the weight is declared the winner.
The morning began with students presenting their proposed designs. They then had less than three hours to build their bridge.
After a lunch provided by the Old Spaghetti Factory, students put their structures to the test. Each team watched as the weight was attached to their bridge while a 60-second countdown played.
Patti Tebbutt, district principal of career programs, said the event is fun and teaches students important lessons. The event is sponsored by Skills Canada and encourages young people to think about careers in trade and technology.
"We're trying to do different career development, so kids can explore fields like engineering."
Tebbutt said the teams spend time researching and designing their structure.
"We hope they learn teamwork, problem-solving and other important career skills."
The winners will go to a provincial competition.
1st Place – Abbotsford Middle – Anthony Land, Colin Dalluyon, Shawn Sandhu
2nd Place – Abbotsford Middle – Beth Horvey, Simran Sachdeva
3rd Place – Gordie Howe Middle – Ben Joseph, Anu Sharma