Pupils from 13 local schools will put their engineering skills to the test in an exciting challenge run by the University of Bristol’s Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (EERC) and At-Bristol on March 29 and 30.

88 pupils aged 13-14 from 13 secondary schools in the Bristol area will work in teams to design and construct small-scale model buildings using only MDF (medium density fibre) board, paper, string and glue.  The models will have to stand up to artificial earthquakes generated on the shaking-table in the University’s Earthquake and Large Structures laboratory.

Since January, the teams have been preparing their materials and planning their designs using the University’s IDEERS (Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools) website (www.ideers.bris.ac.uk) to get advice on how engineers design earthquake-resistant buildings. 

On the day of the challenge, they will be given four hours to assemble their models at the At-Bristol science centre.  The students will then take their models to the University’s Civil Engineering Department to be tested to destruction on the Earthquake Laboratory shaking-table which produces artificial earthquakes. 

At first the models will sway gently as they experience very small earthquakes.  Gradually, the magnitude of the earthquakes will be increased, shaking the models violently and eventually causing them to collapse.  Through this experience, students will learn how buildings behave during earthquakes and why some of them fail.

The three teams creating the most efficient models will win cash prizes for themselves and the team that comes first will win an equipment prize (sponsored by British Nuclear Group) for their school. 

The competition is funded by the University of Bristol and is being supported by the Bristol City Council Excellence in Cities scheme.

Wendy Daniell, a research fellow in the University’s Department of Civil Engineering and who developed the challenge with Adam Crewe, said: “The IDEERS project is an excellent way to show young people that civil engineering is an interesting and valuable career. Particularly in the light of recent disasters from landslides, floods and earthquakes, the project shows the students the work that engineers can do to protect people from the Earth’s natural hazards.

"By doing research for the challenge, building their designs, and seeing their model buildings tested, the students are able to link the knowledge and skills they have learnt at school to real world challenges.”