April 8, 2026 (Maynard, ON) - After a six-year hiatus, the Bridge Busting Regional Championships were back and held at Maynard Public School. Organized by the Thousand Islands Chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) the April 7 event saw teams of students from 12 local schools push their bridges to the limit in the fierce STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) competition.
Starting in March during National Engineering Month, members of PEO began visiting UCDSB schools to run local competitions. Students had to adhere to strict rules in their designs and consider a wide range of factors including structure type, load distribution, joints and connections, and even tension and compression forces. Materials were limited to popsicle sticks and glue. After testing, the students had an opportunity to discuss their designs with an engineer for advice on potential improvements.
The top 3 teams from each school were invited to the Regional Championships and raced to complete their new and improved bridges on time.
“It was great to be able to host a regional championship because we haven't had one in many years,” said Maynard PS teacher Matthew Visser. “All the kids really like doing these extra fun things and it's tied to STEM. It's good to be able to promote that here.”
“We’ve had over 1200 students participate in the local competitions, with over 500 bridges busted,” added PEO Thousand Islands Chapter member John Ireland.
Coming out on top at the Regional Championship with a bridge capable of carrying a whopping 117kg was Zoe Smith, Zoey Byjoo, and Payton Crain from Queen Elizabeth School . Second place went to Zakkary Stevens and the intermediate team from Athens District High School, and third place to Elliot Paul, Eli McRae, and Charlie Cooper, a second team from Queen Elizabeth School.
“We wanted to use a lot of glue and double up the popsicle sticks, because that's how our bridge lost last time,” explained winner Byjoo. “I thought like it was going be 90 kilograms or something and then it was 117. I was just really surprised!”
“We do this every year to get the kids interested in STEM type activities,” added Ireland. “That's really the whole reason we're doing this, is to get kids who have an interest in things that are mechanical or technical or chemical, et cetera, and get them interested in engineering as an education path and as a career.”
Participating schools included the host Maynard Public School, as well as Athens District High School, Chimo Elementary School, Duncan J. Schoular Public School, Lombardy Public School, Merrickville Public School, North Grenville District High School, Perth & District Collegiate Institute, Perth Children’s House Montessori School, Queen Elizabeth School, St. Joseph Catholic School, and Swift Waters Elementary School.