The Tucson Chapter partnered with NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) to help judge their annual "Block Kids" competition, a free event which tasks K-6 students with creating something construction-related in one hour using 100 lego blocks, string, rocks, foil, and paper. The winners from each grade go on to compete at the Region level, and the winners from the Region compete Nationally.
The students work individually and know about the contest ahead of time, so some come prepared with an idea in their head already of what they want to build. Pre-K kids have a crayon drawing area and can play with Duplos. Parents are not allowed in the construction zone but can watch from outside. The kids in the construction zone were given hard hats and the volunteers wear safety vests.
After they have completed building, the students bring their entry up to the judges, who worked in pairs to interview the student about their creation. After the interview, the student goes to collect a gift bag and the judges score the entry. After all of the entries are scored the judges had a chance to go look at all the entries they didn’t judge. Then a recap session was held to determine the winners for each grade level.
This was a very fun event to take part in, and a fantastic opportunity to encourage youth to further their interest in STEM. For more information about this event, contact Buzz Wright.