Build a Bridge Using Skewers STEM Challenge

This is a fun STEM challenge. Build a bridge that is at least two feet long using only 50 bamboo skewers and string. You can use any kind of string and any quantity. You can not use glue. You can cut the skewers or do anything you want to them. The bridge must support at 12 pound brick.

My daughter used waxed thread and created this bridge based on triangles. Triangles, as all three of my children have told me, are the strongest shape.

If you want to try this at home, here are the supplies:

10″ Natural Bamboo Skewer

Waxed thread

Here’s the challenge again but with spaghetti instead of skewers.

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My books:

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Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026

Free and downloadable guide:

Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide

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Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

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Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

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We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection