For the 12th time, students from all over Lithuania gathered at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) to compete in the “Pasta Bridges 2025” finals. This year, the goal was to break last year’s record – the bridge, constructed entirely out of pasta and glue, needed to withstand more than 299 kg. A total of 26 teams entered the competition, and for the fifth year in a row, students from Vievio Gymnasium in Elektrėnai Municipality took first place – their bridge held an impressive 326 kilograms.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adas Meškėnas, VILNIUS TECH Vice-Rector for Strategic Partnerships, “Pasta Bridges 2025” is not only a fun test of engineering thinking and creativity but also a great opportunity for school pupils and students to apply their engineering knowledge in practice, test their ideas, and gain hands-on experience.
“Twelve years ago, this event started small – it took place in a lab and only a few structures were tested. Today, ‘Pasta Bridges’ has grown into a national event, with nearly 30 teams competing. We owe a big thank-you to the teachers and organizers who involved more than 1,500 pupils across Lithuania in the qualifying rounds – that’s a huge contribution to nurturing young innovators,” said Dr. Meškėnas, one of the event’s founders.
He added that the qualifying rounds teach an important lesson: every time you start a project, you need to put in fresh effort. “Your first bridge might have held 50 or 100 kilograms, but today it might hold only a few. That’s why it's essential to work hard every time you start again,” he noted.
This now-traditional event featured 26 student teams from 20 Lithuanian schools and 3 university student teams, all of whom had successfully passed the preliminary rounds. They competed not only for victory and partner-sponsored prizes but also aimed to beat multiple records – the 299 kg “Pasta Bridges” record from last year, as well as the Lithuanian championship record of 567.2 kg.
According to competition rules, the bridges must be constructed solely from pasta and glue, weigh no more than 1 kg, and span a 1-meter gap. This required teams to invest significant effort and creativity in finding optimal engineering solutions. The winner is the team whose bridge holds the highest load.
This year’s champions were the team “Bliudukai,” whose pasta bridge withstood an impressive 326.2 kg. The eighth-grade team from Vievio Gymnasium was participating for the first time and took over the winning legacy from their schoolmates – the “Vievio tiltai” team, prepared by technology teacher Rytis Šakis, had won the previous three VILNIUS TECH championships.
The eighth-graders said they chose a relatively simple bridge design that had already been tested. It was recommended by their teacher, whose advice they trusted throughout the building process. The team spent over a month building the bridge, taking turns working on it. They used spaghetti and pasta tubes (usually stuffed with minced meat) and glued them together with specially prepared adhesive.
Second place went to “Tūbelio vilkės” from Juozas Tūbelis Progymnasium in Rokiškis. Their bridge withstood 187.6 kg. This eighth-grade team was competing for the second time and improved on their previous result of 146.1 kg, which earned them third place last year.
The students said that this year they refined their design, changed the glue – opting for epoxy over hot glue – and used a different type and brand of pasta.
Third place was claimed by the team “Tragedija” from Šiauliai Simonas Daukantas Engineering Gymnasium, whose bridge held 116.2 kg.
You can find more event highlights [here] (for photos or if you're experiencing download issues, please contact milda.mockunaite-vitkiene@vilniustech.lt).
Photographer: Aleksas Jaunius
