Canstruction JR®   

Hunger is a huge problem in the United States and has been going on for centuries. More than 45 million people in the US alone don’t have enough to eat and about 840 million in the world are also in need of food. There are organizations and projects that are trying to stop world hunger. One of these charities is a group called Canstruction. The idea for this organization was started by a designer in 1992. It was a competition for engineers who would use donated cans to build structures. Out of that event came Canstruction Jr, a similar competition for kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

This year, we are in 6th grade and we are attempting to design an amazing structure for Canstruction Junior to build at the Galleria Mall on January 30th.  We are happy that we get to be a part of helping the hungry all around the Hudson Valley.                                  

We have been working every D Day to complete this Canstruction project. We worked on this feat by creating groups and giving those groups different jobs. This year we are building a medieval castle made of cans to show people that hunger has been a problem for a long time. Each group works on different things to build this structure. This year, we have a Tinkering team, Engineers and Architects, PR and Marketing, Fundraising and Procurement and a Digital Story Group. These groups help us to complete all the tasks necessary to have a successful build.

 Tinkering

Our team for Canstruction Jr® is Tinkering. We have to figure out what mechanical devices we can include in the Canstruction design. We have been trying to see how we can incorporate movement , sound, and lights into the head of the king.  So far we have figured out how we are going to build the king and the measurements for the head, body, and arms. We also are in the process of designing the arms. One thing we still have to do is design the lights and movement for the king. Even though we ran into a couple distractions and obstacles I think we work hard and well together.

Engineers and Architects

Our job is to design and calculate all of the statistics of the structure. To design the structure, we will need to look and think about the best way to have the structure stand on its own. We are using Tinkercad to help with the design. When we are finished designing, we can use the designs to help calculate the number of cans that will be used to build our structure and measure to see what our base and height is. When all of that is done we will start to print on the 3-D printer.

Eamonn and Quinn worked on the schedule of the build while Sebi and Ethan worked on all the dimensions for the castle project. Our group has finished the amount of cans, the schedule, what cans we need, the length and width of the towers and the length and width of the castle. We still need to finish the dimensions for towers and walls, and we still have to practice-build parts of the castle. Our team has worked well on the activities, except for a few distractions.  Our group really likes Canstruction Jr®, and are all excited for the big build.

 

 PR and Marketing

We are the PR & Marketing group. Our job is to promote Canstruction JR® and tell people what Canstruction JR® is all about. So far we have sent letters to Coca Cola® and Goya® so we can get cans and water bottles donated to build our school’s structure. We still need to complete getting the word out to our school and the community. We are trying very hard to get the word outside of our school. We are thinking about going to the elementary school meeting to tell them about Canstruction. 

Our team has worked together well most of the time on all of the activities that we have done so far. We also have finished a presentation, and we have also accomplished making donation boxes for cans. We have had a lot of fun so far and we to have more in the future. We all like this project very much and we are very excited for the day we get to build our Canstruction Jr® project! 

 Fundraising and Procurement  

Our job is fundraising to raise money for our build. We also plan on donating to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley so they give food to the less fortunate. We are having the bake sale at our school on Wednesday, January the 21st. We made posters to tell people that we are having a bake sale then put them around the school. Some people in our group worked with people in the Public Relations group, and made the donation boxes to put in various places in the school. Then we organized the Canstruction Jr. T-shirts our class is going to wear. Our group is working really well. We work together to make posters and raise money.

We need to gather more people to bring in food for the bake sales and make more signs to promote it. Also, the donation boxes need to be finished. Things need to be worked on with the bake sale, because it’s happening on Wednesday. There needs to be six boxes and we currently only have four. We can’t wait until Canstruction Jr® officially starts!

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