School pupils and civil engineering students have set a new world record after building a footbridge - made entirely from Meccano.
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100ft Meccano bridge sets new world record
The temporary bridge, spanning over 100ft across Belfasts Clarendon dock, has been recognised by representatives from Guinness World Records as the worlds largest Meccano structure.
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For those who don't know is a system created in , by . It is now based in , . It consists of re-usable strips, plates, , , axles and , with and to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices.
It has been designed and constructed by a group of students at Queen's University Belfast and local school children in a bid to encourage more young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Civil engineering lecturer Dr Daniel McPolin said he hoped the project would inspire his students.
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'I just thought it would be good to get them away from the books, to get them away from the computers and calculators, and to give them a chance to create something really, really exciting,' he said in an interview with Sky News.
Speaking ahead of the inspection by world record officials, Dr McPolin said he was hopeful the structure would measure up.
'We're fairly confident,' he said.
'We've measured the bridge. If it turns out to not be big enough, that would be pretty embarrassing for us.'
The Big Bridge Build project, which includes 11,000 pieces of Meccano and has taken a year to create, has already attracted attention from the engineering and architectural world.
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The bridge has also been tested for weight, with several people having walked across it.
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