16-25″ span – Garrett's Bridges

100 Stick Popsicle Bridge: 21″ Howe Truss

February 15, 2026October 12, 2012 by Garrett Boon

The 100 stick popsicle bridge challenge is on. This Howe Truss bridge uses 99 popsicle sticks, spans 21 inches, and holds 200+ pounds. It’s efficiency score is 678. This is an updated version of my old “Popsicle Bridge #3” which was the same length, but slightly different in construction.

Fernbank Project: Strongest Bridge Design

April 5, 2024October 9, 2005 by Garrett Boon

I built this bridge for the 2005 Fernbank Science Center bridge design event. The bridge spanned 16 inches, weighed 37 grams, and held 346 pounds. That puts its efficiency over 4200! One commenter said, “So if this bridge weighed one pound, it could have held up my car.”