National Association of Women in Construction Sponsors 2010 Block Kids Contest

All the day long,
Whether rain or shine
She’s part of the assembly line.
She’s making history,
Working for victory
Rosie the Riveter.
(From a 1942 WWII song)

By Diane Andrews

Judging by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) members who facilitated the 2010 Block Kids Contest, not all women in construction wear hardhats like the Rosie the Riveters of WWII who paved the way for NAWIC in 1955.

Jennifer Krencik, contest chairperson for NAWIC’s Santa Clara Chapter 99, works on the accounting side of construction.

“Block Kids is one of many educational competitions NAWIC has to educate children about the construction industry. We try to talk to them about the different arms of construction,” Krencik says. “In this contest, we want them to build something construction related. These kids come up with amazing things.”

“I was the first female in my high school (in Rockford, Illinois) in the 1970s to take drafting. I had to get special permission,” says NAWIC member and architect Heidi Rank, one of the six competition judges. “It’s nice that we can work with these kids and open their eyes to a lot of things.”

The 45-minute task for each young builder in the local competition on January 12 was to build a structure using one hundred LEGO interlocking blocks in various colors, a small rock, a short length of string, a rectangle of aluminum foil, and imagination.

First through 6th graders from local cities—nine girls and eighteen boys—waited in the children’s section of Central Park Library for the free, annual contest to begin at 6 p.m.

“I did it last year. It was fun and you could be creative. I made the Statue of Liberty,” says Santa Clara 6th grader Durga Ganesh, accompanied by her mom, Lata Ganesh.

“He really likes to play with blocks,” says Deepa Poikayil, mom of Santa Clara 1st grader Pranav Purathepparambil.

“He’s a LEGO guy,” says Pranav’s Uncle Bijilal Poikayil, who drove from Fremont to give moral support.

While the competition was in progress, relatives had to wait outside the closed doors of the Redwood Room. Each contestant was interviewed by one judge, who assigned points for project creativity, attention to detail, use of provided materials, their oral presentation, enthusiasm, and reason for participating.

When time was up, the kids left the room, and the judges selected the high-scoring winners. Photos of the LEGO structure winning first place will be entered in a regional competition, and the winning structure from each NAWIC region will be entered in the national competition.

After the contest, participants got pizza and a bag of prizes. The top three 2010 winners, who received $30, $25, and $20 Toys ‘R’ Us gift cards, had advice for next year’s participants.

“If you have LEGOs, you can practice,” says 3rd place winner Jacob Alvarado, a Santa Clara 3rd grader who built a hockey rink.

“Anyone who likes building should come and do it because it’s a lot of fun even if you don’t win,” advises 2nd place winner Maya Varma, a Cupertino 6th grader who built a “green” skyscraper with solar panels.

Brooke Murphy-Dunning, a San Jose 6th grader, took 1st place with her oil miner and dump truck. “Try to build something unusual that hasn’t been built and most people wouldn’t think about everyday,” she advises.

For information on this and other NAWIC educational programs, check www.nawic.org and www.nawicsantaclara99.org. Krencik can be reached at jkrencik@tcco.com or 650/235-0377. The second year of Camp MAGIC (Mentoring A Girl in Construction), a free summer day camp for 15 to 20 high school girls, is planned for July.

To inspire the kids for the 2011 Block Kids Contest, consider a summer trip to LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad or, closer to home, to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, a wartime boomtown.