PolyToday: Engineering Challenge

Students in Poly's engineering class recently participated in a simple design challenge. The task was to build the tallest freestanding tower they could in 18 minutes. Each group of three to four students was given the same supplies: five 8x11" sheets of paper, a few paper clips, a cereal bowl, tape, one plastic knife, and a pair of scissors. The tallest tower would win the competition and the team that completed their tower first would get a 10-inch bonus added to their tower's height. The bonus increases the need for speed but often leads to more interesting design choices.