Students Build Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge at Calatrava Colossal Constructors Workshop on May 14

May 12, 2011 - PRLog -- WHO:    
Ten 8th and 9th grade students from local public and private schools were selected to participate with The Trinity Trust, in partnership with SMU’s Summer Youth Program and Talented and Gifted Program, to become engineers for a day and to construct a replica of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge with cables and roads.

WHAT:   
On the morning of the Engineering Workshop, students and their parents will be given an exclusive hard-hat tour of the construction site of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.  MHH Bridge engineers and builders Enrico DeRovere, chief engineer of Cimolai, and Jim McTaggart of VSL (in charge of stringing the cables) will share with them what it’s like to build the first Santiago Calatrava-designed vehicular cable stayed bridge in the U.S.

Designed by internationally renowned architect, artist and engineer, Santiago Calatrava, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is now being constructed to connect downtown Dallas to West Dallas over the Trinity River.  

During the ensuing workshop, students will build a study-model of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, using a STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) framework. Instructor David Abbondanzio of The Study Center, Inc., who teaches in the Plano-based SMU Summer Youth Program, will lead the class in building a study-model 1/66 in scale. During the construction process, the students will learn how the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge works by building the roads, the signature arch piece, which will be more than 6 feet high, and the 58 cables. When completed, the model will be 20 feet long.  

The events of the workshop will be documented by award-winning Producer Judy Kelly, whose video feature will be a learning/teaching tool available for area schools as the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge opens in 2012.  Visit www.thetrinitytrust.org for details.

Through the generosity of the SMU Talented and Gifted program, a scholarship to the TAG program for summer 2011 will be awarded to one qualified participant.

WHEN:    
Saturday, May 14, 2011
8:00 a.m. – Media are required to meet at The Trinity Center to follow group.    
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. – Construction site* (*Media RSVP is required to attend).  
10: 00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – The Trinity Center, 1444 Oak Lawn Avenue Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75207

About The Trinity Trust Foundation and The Trinity Center:
The Trinity Trust raises private funds and public awareness to implement the Balanced Vision Plan for The Trinity project in conjunction with the City of Dallas. The Trinity Trust has established The Trinity Center as the gathering place for all civic and non-profit groups working to revitalize the Trinity River in Dallas. It hosts meetings, workshops and events for Trinity related organizations.  The Trinity Center facilitates collaboration between these entities and the City of Dallas and encourages seamless integration of all the components of The Trinity project.  More information can be found by calling 214.740.1616, by emailing info@thetrinitytrust.org, or by visiting www.thetrinitytrust.org.