Bridge Builders Team Tournament Program Overview
Award Winning Team
Bridge Builders is a fun, lightly competitive, and suspenseful event that draws on effective planning, communication, creativity, and a variety of other team skills to create the best bridge.
Several teams (of 8 to 15 members) are challenged to build a 3 foot long bridge using paper, foil, sticks and other select materials provided by Team Craft.
After making a plan, each team splits into two sub-teams to build their halves in different locations. Communication between sub-teams is limited to simulated phone calls, e-mails, faxes, and an express shipment of raw materials.
Working out the design
When construction time is over, the two halves are assembled. After short presentations touting their bridge’s design attributes, each bridge is tested to determine its load bearing ability. Team members determine the bridge’s load challenge and are vying to build the strongest bridge compared to other teams.
Teams must also incorporate multiple elements of quality into their bridge building. Teams aim for success across five other dimensions as well: build-to-plan, length, and aesthetics. Winning teams receive medals for effective teamwork.
A debrief at the end of the program ties the building experience to the challenge of coordinating teamwork across locations in the work arena.
- 30 minutes—Ice Breaker—teams formed—challenge described
- 30 minutes—Total team planning time
- 10 minutes—sub-teams go to construction locations
- 60—90 minutes—construction time
- 15 minutes—break—teams assemble finished bridge parts
- 30 minutes—Team Presentations and weight testing
- 15 minutes—awards for best designs across all dimensions
- 20 minutes—debrief—key learnings and applications to work
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Finalizing Construction
Celebrating the win
Sustaining a 7 pound stress test
9 pounds of stress so far
Construcing one half of the bridge
Will it withstand the test
Starting the stress test
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