Aashna Mehta, Avrey Kominetsky, Brenna Mishna and Calleigh Pivovar are the winners of the Egg Zipline Challenge for their group at the 2023 WISEST Choices Conference.

Sherwood Park, AB. — Four Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) students from Pine Street Elementary got cracking at this year’s Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) Choices Conference, winning first place in their group for the Zipline Egg Challenge.

At the University of Alberta, more than 50 schools participated in the challenge and were split into two groups. The task: Create a zipline harness stable enough to protect an egg from breaking and fast enough to beat every other team’s time in your group when launched down a zipline. “Our time was 1.6 seconds,” says Brenna Mishna, a Grade 6 student at Pine Street Elementary. “I had lots of fun! And I liked learning more about science, especially biology.”

To prepare for the challenge, the four Grade 6 students applied the knowledge they learned from the conference and from science class to build a sturdy yet speedy zipline harness. They also used hands-on experience gained from the Partners for Science kits at their school, which are funded in part through a Division partnership with Dow Chemical.

“It was awesome to see them succeed in this challenge,” says Karina Hui, an educational assistant at Pine Street Elementary. “The students learned so much from the experience, in addition to completing other experiments throughout the day. They got to explore the world of science and gain insight into various careers in the sector.”

Overall, the WISEST Choices Conference aims to help girls and gender-diverse students see science as an accessible and fun career path. The conference also challenges students' ideas about engineering and science, promoting the fields as human experiences filled with creativity, wonder and teamwork.

“I learned a lot of new things,” says Calleigh Pivovar, another Grade 6 student at Pine Street Elementary. “I understand better that making mistakes is helpful because I can make a nicer finished product.”

Elk Island Public Schools is one of Alberta’s largest school divisions, serving approximately 17,460 students in 43 schools. We are proud to be an integral part of our communities, including Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville, Strathcona and Lamont counties, and the western portion of the County of Minburn.

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For more information contact:
Laura McNabb, Director, Communication Services, EIPS 780-417-8204 cell 780-405-4902