Last year, the contest had youths tossing eggs. This year, it's about building bridges.

The Sequim Education Foundation's 2010 Engineering Challenge dares students to come up with the top bridge structure made of Popsicle sticks.

To promote the February event, the foundation held a pre-event poster contest designed to publicize it, which Sequim High School junior Sage Brown won with her yellow-and-red-hued, mixed media drawing.

Both the Engineering Challenge committee and the foundation's board of directors chose Brown's drawing.

The engineering contest is open to all Sequim public school students. They compete in three separate divisions based upon grade level - elementary school, middle school or high school.

Winners receive scholarship awards and cash prizes.

Sequim students who would like to enter the competition may get applications from science teachers in their schools - Isaac Rapelje or Joe Sullivan at Sequim High School, Joe Landoni or Brian Smelcer at Sequim Middle School, Dave Hasenpflug at Helen Haller Elementary, Carla Morton at Greywolf Elementary or Martha Rudersdorf at Sequim Community School - or go to www.sequimeducationfoundation.org to download registration forms.

They must sign up by Dec. 16.

Retired engineer Walter Johnson is a member of the school board and chairman of Sequim Education Foundation's 2010 Engineering Challenge.

"The purpose of the challenge," Johnson said, "is to discover students interested in science and mathematics and inspire them to pursue careers in engineering." 

Brown, who also won the 2009 Film Festival poster design contest, won $100 for this winning poster entry.

She said she did not plan to spend the winnings for Christmas.

"No, I'm going to add it to my college fund," Brown said, "because I want to be a veterinarian ... and an artist."