By: Véronique Kenny
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Building imagination: Ingenium members shine in 2021 LEGO® contest
Creativity and imagination are the building blocks for success — particularly when it comes to the Ingenium members-only LEGO® contest.
In March 2021, Ingenium’s membership department launched its annual members-only LEGO® contest. Due to pandemic restrictions, in-person submissions and judging could not take place; so staff adapted and organized a fully digital contest.
The theme of the contest was: The Sky’s the Limit. This was chosen in honour of two upcoming exhibitions: Earth in Focus: Insights from Space and Eyes on the Skies: Managing Air Traffic in Canada.
Ingenium members did not disappoint; staff were thrilled to receive almost 100 submissions. Through the wide variety of colourful contest entries, our staff judges soared through the skies and beyond; we defied gravity and saw the world from outer space. We even reimagined what was possible by pushing the limits of our imaginations!
We are happy to show you a small selection of these entries, through still photos and videos. Judging all of these submissions proved to be quite the challenge, but after much deliberation a winner was selected for each of the five age/grouping categories:
Individual Ages 4 to 5: Rafael Cayer, “The Attackings”
Individual Ages 6 to 8: Bennett Geddes, “2051 Mars Airport and Exploration Base”
Individual Ages 9 to 11: Kyle Corkery, “Mission of the Martians ”
Individual Ages 12+: Mathias Marcotte, “La vrai vie »
Group/Family: Everett and Matthew, “The World Outside the Box”
Each of the winners will receive a LEGO® prize pack, and the chance to display their winning creation at one of our museums (pending health and safety regulations). Every participant will receive a certificate of participation, to honour their wonderful entries and efforts.
Ingenium staff also received a number of amazing testimonials and photos from our contest participants:
The Mansell Family, Chris Hadfield Lego portrait
"My 5-year-old said it was ‘the best day ever’ because we were all doing something together and the kids ended up not going to bed till about 9 p.m,! My husband and I were still searching for bricks an hour later!"
Mathew Millery, Space Station Management
"I like science and when I saw this contest, I was excited to participate.”
Elouise Bakker, Flying Colours
“I built a marble run with some simple machines lever, wheel and inclines.”
Gabriel Edwards, Future Flyer
"It took me time to think of how to build it. Sometimes I didn't have a part I needed and had to improvise. I learned how to improvise from my dad and mom."
Kiera Taylor, CSA in the park
“It took a lot of trial and error to get the crank and pulley to work, as I was running out of Legos, and the crane could barely support the rocket. I experimented with the placement of the crank, and added another pulley, in a different spot, and got it working.”
We would also like to add an honourable mention for the following entry, which was made entirely with a computer. What a cool way to use technology!
Thomas Corkery, “Mars’s Garden”
We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who participated in the contest, as well as to the volunteer staff members who helped judge these wonderful creations. The entire Ingenium membership team was thrilled to be able to run this engaging event; it was a high point during a challenging time for our members.
Véronique Kenny
Véronique Kenny is a Clerk within the Membership department at Ingenium. She has previously worked as a Guide at the Canada Science and Technology Museum and has done various jobs at other cultural institutions. She has a passion for history and cultural anthropology and loves sharing it with others.
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