TVOntario cartoon character Tumbleweed successfully saved his Crawlspace from peril, thanks to the innovative ideas of two young masterminds by the name of Grace, 7, of Toronto, and Nikky, 9, of Thunder Bay.
The two young viewers, as winners of the “TVO Kids” show’s “Engineers are Everyday Heroes” contest, recently won one HP Pavilion computer system for home use, plus one for use at school.
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd. provided the computers as part of its sponsorship of National Engineering Week, which ran March 2 to 10. The “Engineers are Everyday Heroes” event is organized by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers in partnership with other organizations interested in science education. In its third year, the event was celebrated throughout the month of March.
Contestants in the station’s “Be an Engineering Hero: Build an Environmentally Friendly Vehicle for Tumbleweed” contest were challenged to design a cool new vehicle to help the network character Tumbleweed get back to his Crawlspace.
Contestants were required to design, draw or build the environmentally friendly vehicle for Tumbleweed using recyclable materials and winning names were drawn April 5.
“The Engineers are Everyday Heroes event is something we’re excited about at HP because it helps create awareness among children about the importance of engineering, science, and technology in our daily lives,” said Sheila Soucy, Employee Communications/Philanthropy Program Manager, HP Canada.
“The wide range of activities encourages young people to keep up their math and science studies, and it excites them about careers in engineering, science, and technology. It all ultimately contributes to an exciting culture of innovation.”
With the theme “Engineering and the Environment,” the 2002 Heroes activities celebrate how Canadian engineers are helping to preserve the environment for future generations. Some of the other activities that took place in March include:
- a TVO Kids live stage show in Toronto, London, Sudbury, and Ottawa;
- the release of a curriculum-related teachers’ kit entitled “Engines – Past, Present and Future”; and,
- the continued airing of Engineers are Everyday Heroes television vignettes (throughout 2003).
Visit www.everydayheroes.on.ca for more information on events and teacher resources, and to see the heroes’ gallery and Web casts, and www.tvokids.com to find out more about the exciting world of Tumbleweed.
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