Building bridges to help close scarce skills gap

摘要

The all-girls team from the Domino Servite School, from Kranskop near Pietermaritzburg, reigned supreme at the SAICE International Bridge Building Competition held at St Albans College in Pretoria on 31 August this year. Not only did they win, they were the youngest team to participate - only in Grade 9. The team, comprising Elsi Haux, Nadine Engelbrecht and Monica Allen, built a bridge with 25 dowel sticks and glue, weighing only 135 g, but which had a weight-bearing capacity of 234.5 kg! Ultimately, aspects such as aesthetics, the mass of the bridge and the weight-bearing capacity determined the winning bridge. These girls' total score was 634. They also received the much-sought after 3D-printed bridge trophy.