Two Weakley County schools secured awards at the 6th Annual Canstruction Jr. competition held last week. Dresden Middle won the Jurors' Choice award while Westview secured the award for Structural Ingenuity.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Clubs from each school represented the district at the event held at Discovery Park of America [DPA] on Thursday, February 1.
With a spin on the popular Hunger Games series, an ‘outCANdish’ 5K race to eliminate hunger is underway within the structure theme for Dresden Middle. An ice cream cone, sports drink, and a watermelon compete in a race to the finish to make food available for everyone. Under the guidance of STEM Club Advisors Sheena Scott and Magen Cooper, the group brought home the Jurors' Choice trophy.
Led by STEM Club Advisor Laura Sterrett, Westview’s theme was “Sailing Away From Hunger,” aimed at leaving food insecurity behind for good. The structure includes a colorful sailboat, marine animals, including the appearance of moving waters. For its creative design that challenged physics, Westview secured the Structural Ingenuity trophy.
A total of eight schools participated in the competition, and each team received sponsorship to purchase canned goods to build a pre-designed and practiced structure. The creations will be on display in an exhibition until February 23rd at Discovery Park of America, when the cans will be donated to local hunger relief organizations.
The canned goods were sponsored by Ben E. Keith Foods, Westan Insurance Group, Homestead Timber Frames, and Allen Searcy Building-Contractor.
Canstruction is a global, non-profit charity event allowing student groups to create structures out of full cans of food, which are later donated to local food banks. Students use art, design, math, and problem-solving skills to create structures using unopened cans of food.