At the beginning of April 28 school teams took part in the climax to the nationwide Tämä toimii! (This Works!) technology competition. The teams had built a mobile toy from a package of materials given to them and designed its marketing.

The annual competition is aimed at schoolchildren in grades 1-6 of comprehensive school. The winners of the regional heats went through to the final competition. All in all, more than 12,000 schoolchildren took part in the competition this year.

The aim of the competition, which is organized by the Finnish Federation of Technology Industries, is to encourage schoolchildren to overcome technological challenges and practical tasks creatively.

“Toys are part of children’s everyday life. Inventing them and producing them are pleasant ways of becoming acquainted with the diverse world of technology,” says Birgitta Ruuti at the Finnish Federation of Technology Industries. “Taking part in the competition is not just competing but also interesting and exciting studying.”

Making technology familiar

One of the themes on which the curriculum for Finnish basic education is set is “Man and Technology”. The aim is to make pupils see the significance of technology in everyday life and guide them into using and controlling technology and understanding its effects.

“For teachers the competition is an excellent tool for teaching interdisciplinary technology in which the pupils are given a truly free rein for creativity and inventiveness. The entries in the competition show how many solutions can be achieved from the same materials.”

As a result of the technology teaching, 3,000 mobile toys, advertisements and diaries were created during January-February. Making the competition entries entailed, at a minimum, a knowledge of and skills in mathematics, physics, Finnish language, art and handicraft.

Interest and creativity

The winners of the final competition in grades 1-3 were pupils from the Pohvirinne School in Joutsa with their toy called “Kontolene”. In the older grades, 4-6, the winners came from the Ersta School in Nastola with their “Spider Teacher”.

Kalevi Ekman, the Vice Rector of Helsinki University of Technology, was amazed by the entries.

“I’ve been following this competition for years and it has grown into an almost unbelievable success story. You can only be proud of the schoolchildren and their teachers for the enthusiasm, creativity and desire to learn, which taking part in the competition embodies.”

Spider Teacher is a word game that teaches English. The correct letters are brought together by a fly magnet from inside a spider. (Photo: Ersta School)