Spaghetti Bridges: Build, Load and Repeat

The construction and subsequent loading of a bridge made out of spaghetti has proven to be an effective instructional tool in combining elements of materials science, mechanics (statics) and manufacturing. This paper reports the advantages of requiring the students to repeat their design layout with slightly different manufacturing criteria instead of just completing one design. The use of spaghetti bridges in introduction to engineering courses has been done before; however, only one bridge is typically done per student team. Requiring the students to design more than one bridge and loading each to failure has a greater impact on student learning by forcing the students to understand the consequences of the differences between their bridges. A description of the design project and the results from implementing the project in improving the impact on student learning and the appreciation of engineering are reported