GEM Students Place in 2023 Kidstruction Competition

Congratulations to MUSD GEM (gifted education) students who participated in the 2023 Kidstruction Competition! Teams from Dove Mountain CSTEM K-8, Tortolita Middle School, Twin Peaks K-8, Gladden Farms Elementary, Picture Rocks Elementary, Ironwood Elementary, and Coyote Trail Elementary were selected as winners.

Gifted students in sixth through eighth grades across Marana Schools flexed their engineering muscles during this year's Kidstruction challenge. Kidstruction is a city-wide design/building competition for middle school students where students design and build futuristic structures based on a theme. This year’s theme was We are the Champions, and structures were built using only business cards, toothpicks, and glue, and required to fit on a 12” x 12” base. The annual design challenge is hosted by local architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

The final showcase and competition took place on September 30 at the Park Place Mall.  Students were incredibly creative with their final submissions!  Marana Schools is proud to have winning teams in all six categories:

• America’s Favorite Pastime: anything related to baseball
  • 2^nd place – “Hermes Fleet of Feet,” Picture Rocks Elementary
• Are you Ready for some Football?: Anything related to football, soccer or rugby
  • 1^st place – “Piglets,” Coyote Trail Elementary
  • 2^nd place – “Just Some Random Business,” Coyote Trail Elementary
  • 3^rd place – “Amethyst Jacket Starlings,” Coyote Trail Elementary
• On Your Mark: anything related to racing – auto, horses, track & field, etc.
  • 2^nd place – “Goats, Lizards, & Insects,” Twin Peaks K-8
• Nothin’ but Net: anything related to basketball, tennis, volleyball, etc.
  • 2^nd place – “Volleypalooza,” Tortolita Middle School
• Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together: anything related to the Olympics
  • 2^nd Place – “Swaggy Surfers,” Dove Mountain CSTEM K-8
  • 3^rd place – “Chief Architects,” Ironwood Elementary

Great work, GEM students! View photos on Facebook.

Kidstruction is hosted by the Southern Arizona Chapter of the Society for Design Administration and AIA Southern Arizona Chapter.