Students grapple with hook challenge

GRIPPING: The tension gets a bit much for South End School team The Suspensions (from left) Stormy Huirama, Carlo Hassall and Kishan Sukha, with Joseph Laybourn (out of shot).

Can you make a grappling hook out of paper?

That was the challenge facing students at Greytown School taking part in the South Wairarapa Technology Challenge yesterday.

The events were based on the BP Technology Challenge that the fuel-giant stopped funding last year.

Featherston, Carterton, Greytown, South End, Pirinoa and St Mary's took part in the event.

Greytown School teacher Desiree Pearse, who put it together, said the tasks helped students come together as a team.

"The challenge enables team work, creative thinking, co-operation and understanding technology," she said.

In the "MacGyver Again" task, the groups were given 20 minutes to make a "device" out of eight sheets of newspaper, 3m of sticky tape, 3.5m of string, four paperclips and a plastic shopping bag.

The device had to be used to pull two cylindrical objects placed at a distance of 2.5m towards them, while the time ticked down from 60 seconds.

Many groups struggled with the task.

Some devices were too short to reach the objects while others were not heavy enough to move the objects.

Throughout all this, teamwork was key, with group members holding down the ankles of the device-controller to prevent their feet from leaving the ground. If they did, points were deducted.

As the hooks and hoops lunged for the objects, teams cheered and groaned at successes and near-misses.

Ethan Wild, a Carterton School student, said the best thing about the day was "the team work and that we actually achieved something because of it".