On June 6, 2017, Mt. Pleasant School began what will hopefully become a storied history of engineering excellence as it competed in the EPro8 Challenge series.

TheEPro8 Challenge is an inter-school science and technology competition that sees over 7000 students from across New Zealand compete to become their region’s 2017 EPro8 Challenge Champion. This year was Mt. Pleasant School’s first foray in to the competition, sending two teams from Team Rock Solid and two teams from Team at the Top. 

In the competition teams are each based at a workstation. This workstation contains a generous variety of easy to use equipment, including aluminium extrusion, brackets, gears, pulleys, motors, axles and electronics. The teams compete to finish a variety of science and technology based challenges. There are four challenges with each challenge covering a different aspect of physics or technology. 

 Each challenge is made of parts - some are easy and some more challenging. The more difficult challenges are worth more points. Each of the challenges is designed to be visually stunning and something the kids are very proud of completing. Students choose which challenges appeal to them. There is not enough time to finish all the challenges, so students must select what they work on carefully. The two Team at The Top teams, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Whoopsies, share their thoughts with us on the competition:

The EPro8 is a competition that tricks and teases your mind and makes you think outside the box. It was held on Wednesday the 6th of June at Opawa School Hall. We were amazed at all the equipment which was sitting there waiting for us. Most of it was made from a 3D printer. The Epro8 is a competition that you really need to bring your thinking cap to. The event is held in several heats around Canterbury and the top four teams from every heat go into the semi finals. Congratulations to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for coming fourth. There are about 12 teams in every heat. Our team name was called ‘The Whoopsies.’
There were four challenges to choose from. There was: laser sensor, where you had to make a type of pattern on the roof using a light, and build a bridge that spans 2.2 meters and can have a one meter boat go underneath the bridge. They all have different criterias which you gain points from. You could do lots of other things. You could add onto your structure and gain points. You could build a guard dog with moving limbs. And a theme park that you had to lift a balloon 2.4 meters in the air. The scoring then went up on a screen so you could see how you are doing. It is hard to stay high up in the scoring because the other teams are constantly gaining points while you are still building. The whole competition was a great learning experience and we had lots of fun.
By Aimee, Katherine, Tim and Darren.

It’s two and a half hours of intense competition. There is no stopping to rest and you and your team are on your own from the moment the countdown starts. It’s really hard to keep your place on the leaderboard because everyone is constantly getting more points. It is very fun and requires lots of team decision making. It was an exciting and intense experience and it challenged us to work together as a group on these hard challenges. The equipment set up, made the whole place look very professional. We had a walkthrough on how all the equipment worked. There was a big TV with the time and the leader board. We had four challenges which varied from bridges to robotic dogs. Our hands got ridiculously dirty from all the wing nuts and bits of metal but it made us think hard and work as a group. All of it was enjoyable and was quite stressful.
It all paid off, because we got into the semis and we get another crack at winning!
By Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Ashleigh, Matti, Felix and Georgia

It may have only been Mt. Pleasant’s first experience with EPro8, but listening to the student’s views, it was an incredibly positive one packed, with learning moments. We already look forward to preparing for next years competition. If you should see any of the Epro8 team members congratulate them for their efforts! We also hope that the team Chitty Chitty Bang Bang does well in the semifinals.