Building Bridges

For the last 2 weeks of first semester, my colleagues and I provided a series of brief science electives--students got their choice. The one I taught was on Design and Engineering, and culminated in a bridge-building project. Their goal was to make the most attractive bridge possible that would hold a maximum weight over a 30 cm gap, using as little pasta and glue (their only materials) as possible.

The results: here's the winning student bridge, which held around 12 kg (that's about 24 lb, for those who don't speak metric). I hate to boast, but I will, by pointing out that the bridge I made held 31 kg (62 lb). OK, no fair, I do have an engineering degree. For all the pictures of bridges (and their architects) click here.

The Sound of Music

There's a lot of wonderful music in Vienna...and I got to play in two concerts in December. The first was a community band just outside the city...every year they have a concert on the opening day of the local Christmas market (you can just see me in the back). Then on the 13th, our school jazz band (mostly students with a few teachers) got to play in this beautiful baroque cathedral in downtown Vienna. I think the parish priest was a little nervous when we brought in the drumset. It's not the kind of place you typically hear a lot of jazz music, to say the least.