IN THE CLASSROOM:Put your engineering caps on

Tyler Ashoff and Griffin Holbrook pulled off a remarkable feat Thursday morning: they made their science teacher look short.

The Newport Elementary School fifth-graders joined their classmates in a contest to see who could build the tallest structure out of popsicle sticks, straws and other household items. With the aid of paper clips, rubber bands and a knack for engineering, the boys built a contraption that stood more than seven feet tall — and even rose above teacher Trisha Jenssen, who at six-foot-one towers over most of her students.

“I think it’ll stand, as long as no one touches it,” Tyler, 11, said as Jenssen craned her neck to measure his project.

As it turned out, the sculpture held long enough to be one of three in Nancy Lester’s class on display at open house Thursday evening. Lester promised to put the tallest models up for parents to view, and three student teams — Tyler and Griffin, Kellie Melendres and Leah Van Dyke, and Marco Bruscia and Ian MacInnis — were the lucky winners.

Jenssen, who works with Newport fifth-graders twice a week, is among four elementary science teachers in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District paid for by a $2.5-million gift from the Irvine Co. The building project, she said, allowed students to hone their engineering skills. She added that the concept of sturdy building structures would also resonate with sixth-graders, who learned about earthquakes and plate tectonics.

“That’s what we want — for kids to love science,” Jenssen said.

On Thursday, Lester’s fifth-graders got in pairs and spent an hour piecing their structures together. Each group received 20 straws, 20 popsicle sticks, four paper clips, three rubber bands and one piece of tape. Most students started by creating a base, then trying to fit as many straws and sticks together as they could to reach maximum height.

“We kind of had some malfunctions, so we’ve been holding it up,” said Nikki Walsh, 11, as she and partner Elizabeth Munchow added pieces to their tower.

For some students, it became a challenge to see how many of their available pieces they could use. Griffin, after his structure was mostly complete, took his last paper clip and fit it into the straw on top.

“It’s a lightning rod!” he explained.