Every November on the first Saturday of the month, the NAWIC Philadelphia Foundation brings together 30 industry volunteers to guide more than 100 children through a hands-on construction competition and interactive trade show activities. During the competition, students in first through sixth grade have one hour to use their imagination and build a construction-related structure using 100 Lego blocks.
“They love making cranes. I’ve seen them create environmental things like how to collect trash and how to clean up. Some of the kids are really, really creative,” says Mary Gaffney, president of GEM Mechanical Services Inc., and board president of the NAWIC Philadelphia Foundation.
First, second and third-place winners are selected from each grade and awarded a ribbon and a $25 gift card. The three top-scoring winners from across all grades receive an even larger prize. As a bonus, the overall winner is submitted to the regional Block Kids Building Program competition—run by NAWIC—with the chance to compete and win nationally. “It’s a fun day. We get a lot of repeat kids, and we have winners from all grade levels,” Gaffney says.
Each project is scored based on its originality, attention to detail, use of the materials provided, oral presentation, enthusiasm and the reason for participation.
“One of our winners from a couple years ago recreated the [iconic] Melrose Diner demolition and went on to win the regional competition. It was really neat, not only how she did it, but how she explained it.”
Although the competition brings much of the day’s excitement, volunteers also get the kids involved in additional immersive construction activities. Held either outside or in the “trade showroom,” each child receives a punch card and can redeem prizes for viewing or participating in trade-related activities, including sprinkler fitter demonstrations from the local fire department, crane demos and hands-on projects with bricklayers and carpenters.
“The kids are amazed; it’s a big production. We rent out a really big tent for the trade show to be in and the kids get to build something and actually probably walk out with something like a little bird house,” says Gaffney.
Every participant also receives a take-home bag that includes crayons, crossword puzzles and a copy of the interactive construction-themed children’s book, “In the Construction Zone: An Activity Book”.
Through events like the Block Kids Fundraiser and interactive material similar the construction-themed children’s book, Gaffney and the NAWIC Philadelphia Foundation are opening young eyes—and their parents’—to the possibilities of a career in construction.
“More parents are starting to consider a career in construction for their kids,” she says. “They’re seeing more and more evidence every day that, hey, this is a great career.”
