About Jeb
General Information and Entry Regulations
Young Engineers & Hasbro are working together with the SETPOINT’s, the Science & Engineering Ambassadors (SEAs) and the Education Business Partnerships to bring you the K’Nex Challenge 2006. The aim of this challenge is to provide primary schoolchildren with an introduction to the exciting world of engineering and technology.
Who can enter?
The competition is open to primary schools or organisations teaching school years 4, 5 and 6 or equivalent (approximately pupils aged 7 – 11 years old) in the UK. The competition is normally run for a classroom of pupils of approximately 30 pupils, however if a school wishes to enter more students then your local organiser will discuss this with you. The challenge is suitable for primary school pupils of all abilities.
How to enter
Entry for the 2006 competition is open until 30 April 2006 (subject to individual local organiser schedules), you can request a registration form from the address at the bottom of the page or register your interest using our online K’Nex Challenge form.
What happens next?
Once your entry is received you will be contacted by one of our many local organisers based around the UK. The local organiser, SETPOINT or SEA will contact you to arrange a suitable date for the challenge to be held in your school.
The Challenge
The challenge has four of levels of competition, School, Area, Regional and National. Each level of the competition involves pupils working in teams of two to demonstrate their imagination, creativity and ingenuity by designing and making a model which solves a set challenge. Each level has different fun challenges set by Young Engineers which must be solved using K’Nex. The models are often judged by experienced engineers or equivalent and the overall winning team at each level of the competition will be invited to the next level of the competition.
Each pupil that participates in the competition will receive a certificate of achievement which distinguishes which level they have reached. Each level of the competition will reward participating schools with a free K’Nex kit with over 420 pieces, worth approximately £30.00. Each level of the competition is designed to stretch the pupils imagaination, creativity and skills set from one level to the next so that at each level they learn something new and if they are lucky enough to reach the national final they will combine all of their newly acquired skills.
The challenge is carried out using silver K’Nex Organiser kits with over 1500 pieces which are supplied by Young Engineers via your local organiser. In most cases the local organiser will attend the challenge session themselves or send a SEA. The silver organiser kits must be returned to the local organiser at the end of each level of the competition as they remainthe property of Young Engieers and are required for the next competition! (It should be noted that each local organiser may run the challenge a little differently to that shown here.) In many areas the challenge is free, in some the organiser may charge a small admin fee of £20.00 to cover the travel expenses and or delivery collection of the loan kits.
School Challenge – The K’Nexperimentor
This is the first level of the competition, in which pupils working in teams of two will complete a set fun challenge that is designed to fit in the curriculum. The challenge is kept relatively simple to allow pupils of all abilities to successfully complete the challenge. Once completed the winning team will receive small K’Nex kit prizes and the school will receive a school kit to keep. All pupils will receive a K’Nexperimentor certificate with the winners going forward to the next level.
Area Challenge – The K’Nexplorer
Once pupils have competed at the school challenge level, a winning team from each of the schools involved in an area (e.g., county or LEA) will be invited to an area final. Participating teams will be given a more challengeing scenario to complete using K’Nex kits with the winning team being invited to the next level of the competition – the regional final. The winning team again receives a winners prize and the school receives an additional school kit. All pupils at the Area Challenge will receive K’Nexplorer certificates.
Regional Final – The K’Nextronaut
The regional finals will take place throughout the UK in June and July and will bring together the winners of each area final. The participating teams of pupils will tackle the next challenge which is designed to stretch their imagination and creativity whilst building upon their skills base. The winning team for each regional final will be invited to the national final. The winning pupils and runners-up will each receive K’Nex prize kits. All pupils will receive a K’Nextronaut certificate for participating in the regional final. The schools will again be gifted with a free school kit. Details on the regional finals will be listed on the regional final news page in the Young Engineers for Britain section.
National Final – The K’Nexpert
The national final of the Junior Engineer for Britain K’Nex Challenge competition is expected to be held in September 2006 in London as part of the Celebration of Engineering. All finalist teams will be given the last part of the challenge to solve which must be completed using the K’Nex kit provided by Young Engineers. The pupils in the winning team and the runners-up will receive fantastic K’Nex kits. The winning school will receive £1,000 and a trophy and the runner-up school will receive £500 and a trophy. All pupils will receive terrific K’Nex goody bags and commemorative K’Nexpert certificates. All participating schools at the national will recieve free K’Nex kits.