Josiah Manuel, Brandon Tomlinson and Ismael Rodriguez.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — In October students in C.A. Gray Junior High’s eighth grade technological systems class explored the engineering design process while participating in a Popsicle bridge design challenge created by the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers as part of TryEngineering.

Students in Robbie Pitts’ class were challenged to create a bridge that could hold at least 20 pounds without failing while keeping to a constraint of less than 200 Popsicle sticks.

Over the course of two weeks the students went through the design process to come up with concepts and evaluate their bridge plans while working as a team.

At the end of the challenge, students put weights on the bridges to test their designs. Students’ bridges held weights from 20 to over 125 pounds. A few bridges were so sturdy that they had to stop putting weights on them for safety reasons.