The results are in! Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Kootenay Contraption Contest.
Throughout November, K to 8 students from all across the Kootenays put on their thinking caps and designed their very own “contraptions” to solve a problem put forth by our judging panel.
From protective domes to solar-powered suits, our Kootenay youth proved their imaginations are limitless! We received illustrations, presentations, and some even built their own very own prototypes, bringing their ideas to life! We were amazed by the creativity put forth by participants of this year’s Contest.
Thank you to FortisBC for your ongoing support!
For this year’s Kootenay Contraption Contest, we challenged students to dream up a contraption for this scenario:
Meet our 2022 Winners!
GRAND PRIZE & GRADE 5 WINNER / Ciara M.
The Burrower
Meet Ciara
School: J.A. Laird Elementary, Invermere, Dylan Dainard
Ciara is very creative with lots of ideas and a great imagination. She likes drawing, painting, writing stories, playing with clay, making songs and singing, dancing to music etc. She loves playing outside, especially in snow. Winter is her favorite season. She loves animals. She has a pet cat and wants to have a dog too. She wants to study zoology and to help all animals to live a happy life. She likes school a lot, doesn’t want to miss school nor being late. She loves learning. She likes challenges, always tries hard and won’t give up. Her favorite subjects are mathematics, social studies and P.E. She likes running, swimming, skiing, playing soccer and parkour.
Ciara’s Contraption
PRE-K WINNER / Lumi M.
Bear Trap
Meet Lumi
School: Pre-K
Lumi’s Contraption
KINDERGARTEN WINNER / Juniper S.
House Inside the Earth
Meet Juniper
School: D.A. Perley Elementary, Grand Forks
Juniper is an aspiring explorer, in all areas except food (which we’re working on!). Her best buddy is her cat Holiday, her favourite song is the Ghostbusters theme, and her favourite show is Hilda (on Netflix). She loves to ski, hike, mix baking soda with vinegar, and take water samples. Sometimes she tumbles in the snow, but as Hilda says, “Such is the life of an adventurer!”
Juniper’s Contraption
GRADE 1 WINNER / Cedar M.
Underground City Bunker
Meet Cedar
School: Rosemount Elementary
Cedar has been quite the inquisitive and precocious little boy, ever since he could talk in full sentences at 2 years old. Year-round you can find Cedar outside most of the day either swimming, making sandcastles, biking, sledding, making snowmen, helping with the family gardens, exploring the local trails and forests, even climbed Pulpit this year! When not outside, he loves singing Christmas carols, building and taking things apart including Lego, his science kit, toy cars, reading books for fun, for learning to read and for a real treat he likes books about human anatomy and inventions. Cedar loves raw vegetables, fruit, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs around a campfire and sneaking candy with his grandfather Pops.
Cedar’s Contraption
GRADE 2 WINNER
Glass Dome
Meet Grade 2 Winner
School: Salmo Elementary, Shellene MacInnis
Grade 2 Winner’s Contraption
GRADE 3 WINNER / Mason M.
Water Cannon
Meet Mason
School: Salmo Elementary, Shellene MacInnis
Mason loves science and history and riding his bike! Mason has a dog named Ted and a kitty named Sprinkles. His favourite food is PIZZA, he’s so happy to have won a pizza party for his class. Mason’s favourite podcast is ‘Who Smarted?!’ because he loves how they mix learning with being funny and silly.
Mason’s Contraption
GRADE 4 WINNER / David B.
Big Metal Ball
Meet David
School: Canyon Lister Elementary, Canyon, Brian Ewashen
David’s favorite hobbies are dirtbiking, snowmobiling, hunting, and boating. His favorite food is pizza.
David’s Contraption
GRADE 6 WINNER / William P.
The Survival Capsule
Meet William
William is a very curious 11 years old. He loves anything related to building and how things works. You can see him riding his unicycle going to school. William loves to spend his time playing LEGO or building new inventions.
William’s Contraption
GRADE 8 WINNER / Lyra G.
Underground Living with Solar Panels
Meet Lyra
School: Homelinks SD8, Nelson, Bianca Duffy
Lyra, 13, likes reading books and cuddling with her four cats. She says she was inspired by the Hunger Games for her Kootenay Contraption.
Lyra’s Contraption
2022 KCC JUDGING PANEL
from L to R:
Katelyn Bilenduke / KAST
Melanie Fontaine / KAST
Crystal Swan / KAST (not pictured)
Jennifer Datchkoff / FortisBC
Aimee Montpellier / FortisBC
Blair Weston / FortisBC
