Junk Drawer Races

Welcome to Skills Ontario’s Junk Drawer Races!

 

Overview
Important Dates
Registration
Regional Divisions
How to Submit
Submit Your Project
Scopes
Mandatory Safety Checklist
Resources
Medal Ceremonies
Questions

Junk Drawer Races                                                                      

This Employment Ontario program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

Government of Ontario

 Contest Sponsor: Paper Glider Planes

Overview

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 2 - 12 within Ontario. Please refer to the table below for these competitions and the associated curriculum.

Competition Grades Related Topics from Curriculum
Robot Walker Race 2-3
  • 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 6-7
  • 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 Crane Challenge  8
  • Make objects and models
  • Hydraulic 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.
Air Pressure Rocket Challenge 9-12
  • Earth and space science
  • Forces at work
  • Motion and energy
  • Practical applications of science and technology concepts in various occupations, including skilled trades.

 

Important Dates

Event (All contests) Date
Championship Round Submissions Due March 3, 2023, at 3:00 PM 
Championship Round Winners Announced March 27, 2023 (via virtual ceremony)
   

 

Registration

Championship Registration - Click here

 

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. Regional winners will be announced on January 30th.

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 junkraces@skillsontario.com . To keep programming consistent, these regions are the same as the Qualifying Competition (for the most part).

Regional Divisions Table

 

How to Submit

Details about your contest’s specific submission  information can be found in the scopes.
Teams must create a folder that is titled “School Name, School Board, Team Number.”

For example: if your school is St. Mary’s Elementary School in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and you are team 1 of 3 at your school, your folder should be called:

“St. Mary’s Elementary School, Waterloo Catholic DSB, Team 1”

 

Submit Your Project

 

 

 

 

Championship Scopes

Competition Grades Championship Scope
Gravity Powered Robot Walker Race 2-3 2023 Scope
Cardboard Car Race  4-5 2023 Scope
Paper Glider Competition 6-7 2023 Scope
Hydraulic Crane Challenge  8

2023 Scope

Drawing
Air Pressure Rocket Challenge 9-12 2023 Scope

 

Resources

The following links are for reference only. You may learn from these, but your submission should not be identical. If it is found to be identical by the judges, your submission may not be considered for marking.

Competition Grades Document(s)
Gravity Powered Robot Walker Race 2-3
Cardboard Car Race  4-5
Paper Glider Competition 6-7
Hydraulic Crane Challenge  8
Air Pressure Rocket Challenge 9-12

 

Medal Ceremonies

Winners of the Regional Round!

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After championship submissions have been judged for the junk drawer races, winners will be announced during the regional ceremony. The ceremony will be virtual for the 2022-23 school year.

The championship ceremony will take place on March 27, 2023.

Medals will be shipped from Skills Ontario to the schools of the challenge winners.

 

Questions

 Should you have any questions regarding this competition, please do not hesitate in contacting the Competitions Coordinator at awilkins@skillsontario.com.