American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

West Point Bridge Design Contest

Students mull bridge design challenge at contest final.

Contest opens January 8, 2004 and the first round closes April 5, 2004. Students and their mentors can download the contest software in advance.

The West Point Bridge Design Contest provides middle and high school students throughout the country with a realistic, engaging introduction to engineering. Students work hands on to design and test a truss bridge within a set of design parameters, using a computer simulation program.

Discover the details for the 2004 contest

Download the Bridge Designer software

Organize a local contest for your community

How can I find out more about the West Point Bridge Design Contest, or other ASCE sponsored educational outreach programs?

Please contact ASCE's communications department for information.

What are the educational outreach programs I can take to other age groups?

Now, ASCE has educational outreach programs that touch students in grades K-12.

By bringing fun, hands-on math, science and engineering activities into classrooms, ASCE members can show kids the fundamentals of the profession and what types of activities they might do each day on the job. Beyond prompting students to become civil engineers in the future, these educational outreach programs also build a basic civil engineering knowledge necessary for citizens to make informed decisions on infrastructure issues in their community and world.

2002 was not only ASCE's 150th anniversary, but also marked the 200th anniversary of the United States Military Academy at West Point(NY), the first school in the nation to establish a civil engineering program. To recognize these impressive milestones, and to celebrate the civil engineering profession throughout the nation, ASCE and the Academy developed and sponsored an online nationwide competition aimed at promoting math, science and technology education in high schools throughout the country. The first annual contest opened November 11, 2001, and the final round was held April 27, 2002, on the West Point campus.