The last big project of the year for the seventh and eighth graders was their toothpick bridge. The students were tasked with building a bridge out of 750 toothpicks that spans a gap of 12 inches. Each student was responsible for their own design, construction of and then breaking of it.

This is a project that teacher Ryan Davis brought to OCS. It is the same project that he did while in the eighth grade.

“To get an A, the bridge needed to hold 50 pounds,” said Davis. “This year we saw many bridges accomplish that goal. As we do this project more the bridges are getting better and better.”

This year’s champion set a new OCS record by holding 183 lbs. The winning bridge was called “Bridge of the Pacific” and was designed and built by Cailin Tucker.

“This was a really fun project,” said student Tori Plunkett. “I enjoyed applying what we have learned in math and science to the design and building aspect of the bridge. I got an A so I am pretty happy.”