Digital Technology

Bridges, Bytes, and Breaking Records: 2025 Spaghetti Challenge 

This term, the 2025 Spaghetti Bridge Challenge brought together students from Years 6 to 10 for an exciting blend of engineering design, digital technology, and hands-on problem solving. Working in teams, students were given a simple yet demanding brief: construct a single-span bridge using just 250 grams of spaghetti and seven hot glue sticks (although some eager engineers stretched this to nine+!).

But this was no ordinary construction task. Students used Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT to research bridge types, test structural principles, and refine their design strategies. They explored how civil engineering principles such as tension, compression, and load distribution could be applied using modern digital tools. Some students also explored 3D simulation software to visualise stress points and test digital models before building their physical bridges.

Congratulations to Larissa Christodoulou and Katia Panagiotopoulos (6C), who won Best Overall Design as voted by their peers. A special shout-out to Jeff Wang (7B), whose bridge held 5 kilos and broke at 6 kilos, making him the Overall Winner for 2025. The Oakleigh Grammar record of 8 kilos, held by Thavaly Korn and Kosoma Mam (2024), still stands strong.

The integration of digital technology into this challenge showed students how software and AI are becoming powerful tools in the world of Computer Science, Engineering and Computational thinking. Not only did students learn how to build better bridges — they also built a deeper understanding of how digital solutions are shaping the future of innovation.

With creativity, tech skills, and a healthy dose of competition, students are already excited to take on their peers for the 2026 Spaghetti bridge challenge.

Peter Akbiyik

Teacher - VCE Applied Computing & Data Analysis