Creative tunes and melodies are gracing Otonga Road Primary School with its new Musical Garden, which has come runner-up in the national Transpower Neighbourhood Engineer Awards.
With a record 70 schools competing throughout New Zealand, points were awarded for the best and most innovative collaborations between students, teachers and volunteer engineers.
Year 4, 5 and 6 students planned and built the Musical Garden which includes a freestanding drum kit, a three-sided percussion instrument and a marimba.
The project won $1500 for the school which was awarded by Transpower in a school assembly on Monday.
Otonga School assistant principal Belinda Herbert said the awards offered students an engaging context for curriculum-based learning in maths, science and technology through working with an engineer on a practical project in the school.
"We are thrilled with the end result. It has been over two terms of working alongside engineer Dan Phillips and music teacher Adele Lyons with the children to get to this final product.
"We are very proud of the enthusiasm, ideas and dedication of the children involved."
Neighbourhood engineer Daniel Phillips, from PF Olsen, helped out weekly with the Musical Garden to help students develop an understanding of engineering by encouraging creativity to come up with innovative ideas.
"I liked leading the students in problem solving - for example we knew where the Musical Garden site had to be, but we guided the students through an environmental, spacial and practical evaluation process which resulted in them coming up with the same spot themselves.
"It was rewarding to help students develop skills including research, project management, teamwork, drawing plans and using tools such as a tape measure, level, concrete trail and spade.
"PF Olsen also demonstrated on site how the latest drone technology can help with site planning and mapping."
Student Anna said she had a great time. "Being there on the working bee, and helping to paint the fence was fun."
The aim of the Transpower Neighbourhood Engineer's awards was to create a greater awareness of the engineering profession and to encourage innovative thinking in the areas of engineering and technology.
The long-term aim of the awards is to excite and inspire more students to study for a career in technology, engineering and science.