Welcome to Skills Ontario’s Junk Drawer Races!
This Employment Ontario program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
Contest Sponsor: Paper Glider Competitions
Overview
Please CLICK HERE to join the 2026-2027 Junk Drawer Races Information Session on Tuesday, September 29th, 2026 at 3:30pm!
This program is inclusive for all students to participate from across the province, as it can be completed from a classroom directly tied to the curriculum or at home for virtual classrooms. Submission is completely virtual. This program promotes sustainability of re-using common items found at home or in a classroom, along with recyclables or low costing materials of $10 or under. These challenges endorse teamwork along with safety, and teams have the chance to win medals at the regional level, and the opportunity to continue to the Championship level!
The contests under this program are open to students from Grades 1 – 8 within Ontario. Please refer to the table below for these competitions and the associated curriculum.
| Competition | Grades | Related Topics from Curriculum |
|---|---|---|
| Robot Walker Race | 1-3 | • Angles • Units of time and duration • Simple machines • Movement of objects • Strong and stable structures Forces and action of forces |
| Cardboard Car Race | 4-5 | • Machines and mechanisms • Motion • Wheels Effects of forces acting on structures • Design, build, and test devices • Practical applications of science and technology concepts in various occupations, including skilled trades |
| Paper Glider Competition | 6 | • Flight technology and forces of flight • Design, build, and test models and structures • Centre of gravity and balance of forces • Practical applications of science and technology concepts in various occupations, including skilled trades. |
| Hydraulic/Pneumatic Crane Challenge | 7-8 | • Make objects and models • Hydraulic & Pneumatic systems • Viscosity and fluids • Pressure and compression of liquids • Systems in action • Practical applications of science and technology concepts in various occupations, including skilled trades. |
Number of Teams and Size of Teams:
Teams of 4 students can participate in the challenges.
Virtual schools/hubs, as well as hybrid virtual classes, can register just like in-person schools. This competition is also open to private schools.
The competitions are open to everyone who would like to participate, as long as they are participating at the appropriate grade level.
Note: If your class is a split class, (i.e., 6/7) – you have two options:
- Have the grade 7s participate in the grade 7-8 challenge and the grade 6s participate in the grade 6 challenge, or
- Have the entire class participate in the higher-grade contest (e.g., in this case, the entire class would participate in the grade 7-8 challenge).
There is no cap on the number of teams each class, school, or school board can register.
Team members do not need to be chosen at the time of registration! Team members can be chosen afterward, and their names can be submitted when the challenges are being submitted on their due date.
If you have any questions or concerns about registration spaces for your school, please contact the Competition Coordinator at cvollum@skillsontario.com.
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Regional Round Scopes Released on Website | September 15, 2026 |
| Registration for Regional Competitions Opens | September 15, 2026 |
| Junk Drawer Races 2026-27 Announcement | September 15, 2026 |
| Submissions for Regional Competitions Due | January 8, 2027, by 11:59 PM |
| Championship Round Scopes Released on Website | January 29, 2027 |
| Regional Competitions Winners Announced | January 29, 2027 (via virtual ceremony) |
| Championship Round Challenge Announced | January 29, 2027 |
| Championship Round Registration Opens | January 29, 2027 |
| Championship Round Submissions Due | February 19, 2027 |
| Championship Round Winners Announced | March 12, 2027 (via virtual ceremony) |
Design Document
It is important that this document is filled out and submitted with your final submission. Design documents for each challenge:
Robot Walker (Grade 1-3) Design Document
Cardboard Car (Grade 4-5) Design Document
Paper Glider Plane (Grade 6) Design Document
Hydraulic/Pneumatic Machine (Grade 7-8) Design Document
You can:
- Print the document, fill it out with pen or pencil, scan it, and submit it with your final submission.
- Download the PDF, fill in the PDF on your device, and submit it with your final submission.
Registration
Registration for the Junk Drawer Races is mandatory.
The challenges are open to all who would like to participate. There is no cap on the number of teams each class, school, or school board can register.
Team members do not need to be chosen at the time of registration! Team members can be chosen afterward and their names can be submitted when the challenges are being submitted on their due date.
Regional Divisions
For this competition, Skills Ontario has divided the 76 public school boards across Ontario into regional divisions as per their geographic location. Similar to the regional divisions of the Qualifying Competition that leads to the Skills Ontario Provincial Competition. There are 7 regional divisions.
A team must place within the top 3 of their regional division during the Regional Competition to be eligible for the Provincial Championships.
Refer to the table below to review which Regional Division your School Board belongs to. This is the division your team will compete within during the Regional Competition.
If your school board is not listed, or if you notice an error, please contact the Competitions Coordinator at cvollum@skillsontario.com.
How to Submit
Please visit the submission site (see below) and fill out all the required information. You can submit all your projects at the same time into the “File Upload”. You may browse for the files on your device, or you may drag and drop your files.
Please ensure each of your teams have put all parts of their submission into ONE zipped folder (one folder per team).
Ensure that each team labels their folder with their TEAM NUMBER (e.g., Team 1). This will ensure that we can tell their projects apart.
Submit Your Project
Click HERE to Submit for the 2026-2027 Junk Drawer Races Championship Round!
Please note, you may number your students teams yourself. Please ensure each team’s number or team name corresponds with the one labelled on their zip folder.
Scopes
Scopes for the 2026-2027 Junk Drawer Races will be posted on September 15, 2026!
| Competition | Grades | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Gravity Powered Robot Walker Race | 1-3 | 2025-26 Championship Robot Walker Scope Robot Walker Design Document |
| Cardboard Car Race | 4-5 | 2025-26 Championship Cardboard Car Scope Cardboard Car Design Document |
| Paper Glider Competition | 6 | 2025-26 Championship Paper Glider Scope Paper Glider Design Document |
| Hydraulic/Pneumatic Machine Challenge | 7-8 | 2025-26 Championship Hydraulic/Pneumatic Machine Scope Load Test Drawing Hydraulic/Pneumatic Machine Design Document |
Resources
The following links are for reference only. You may learn from these. Your submission should not be identical, but it can be very similar. We encourage you to use your imagination and be creative!
| Competition | Grades | Document(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Gravity Powered Robot Walker Race | 1-3 | • https://www.instructables.com/Gravity-Powered-Robot-Walker/ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITTcWrsI93s |
| Cardboard Car Race | 4-5 | • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JM8XCmNhlE • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfiV1oTF-ks • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwwvRJhR-YQ |
| Paper Glider Competition | 6 | • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdZiesdZXbA • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rcysOPn-4 |
| Hydraulic Crane Challenge | 7-8 | • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklAmKKu1y0 • https://www.instructables.com/CARDBOARD-Robotic-Hydraulic-Arm/ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYhWg3038rI |
Medal Ceremonies
After submissions have been judged for the Junk Drawer Races, winners will be announced during the regional ceremony. The ceremony will be virtual for the 2026-2027 school year.
Medals will be shipped from Skills Ontario to the schools of the challenge winners.
Check here the day of the ceremony for the link to attend.
To view past regional and championship ceremonies, please visit our YouTube page here.
FAQs
Junk Drawer Races – Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
Should you have any questions regarding this competition, please do not hesitate in contacting the Competitions Coordinator at cvollum@skillsontario.com.
