Attention Scout Engineers!

We have been hired by the Eco-Friendly Strip Mining Company to build a ferry and bridge to convey their trucks from the mine across Bottomless Lake and Perpendicular Gorge to the road. Because of financial demands, we are limited in the materials we can use - the complete supply is provided on your table. You may use any of these materials in any way you need in order to allow trucks to drive onto the ferry, across the lake and the gorge and off the bridge onto safe ground.

You will be provided with a test truck. The actual truck will be driven across your ferry and bridge with a full load of Squarenutite, the ore which EFSMC mines. If it makes it safely, a heavier truck with a larger load will be tried, then two trucks.

Your design will be tested in competition with another engineering company. The winning design will be the one which takes the heaviest load.

Note: the test trucks will be towed across the bridge and ferry by a long cable.

Materials List and Instructions

You will need the following materials:

  • Toy dump truck (small - 3x5” footprint is about right)
  • Something to hold water to represent the lake - washtub would be perfect, or a large lasagna pan
  • Two platforms to stand in for the lakeshore and the other side of the gorge - something of roughly equal height to the lake - a pile of books or bricks or scrap lumber... Each platform needs to be big enough to support both axles of the truck.
  • Material to build bridges from - shish kebab sticks, drinking straws, 3x5 or business cards, tape, string, rubber bands… whatever.
  • Material to build ferry from - cards and tape would work well.
  • Something to weight the truck with - the “Squarenunite” was made up of square threaded nuts I found in my basement. Bolts or marbles would work as well. It’s best to use something of consistent size and weight so you can count instead of having to actually weigh the load.
  • A string to pull the truck along the bridge

Setup:

  • Fill lake with water
  • Set up the lake short next to the lake, and set up the other side of the gorge about 8”-12” from edge of lake.

Play:

  • Hand each patrol the instructions
  • Patrols need to build a ferry to carry the loaded truck across the lake, then a bridge to carry the truck from the lake to the other side of the gorge.
  • When they’re ready, put truck on lakeshore, load with some number of weights. Put ferry in lake, bridge on other side.
  • Use string to drag truck onto the ferry, across the lake, then across the bridge.
  • If bridge doesn’t collapse and ferry doesn’t sink, add weights and repeat until it collapses and/or sinks.
  • Winning patrol has the heaviest load before failure.