Young people awarded prizes by the British Science Association in photo competition showcasing technicians.
The British Science Association (BSA) has announced the winners of the Technicians Make it Happen photo competition. The announcement took place at Thorpe Park during the BSA’s Great British Science Club celebration event on 5 July, which is being held to celebrate 30 years of CREST Awards.
The BSA partnered with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation on their Technicians Make it Happen campaign to promote the valuable role that technicians play within society and the UK economy. The photo competition was run earlier this year as part of British Science Week and saw hundreds of entries from students across the UK.
Youngsters were asked to create a scene conveying the type of job their chosen technician does. They could use every day materials found in the kitchen or classroom, and any backdrops they could make themselves. They could also act out the scene by dressing up a teddy bear, teacher or a parent as their technician of choice. They then took a photo of their scene and shared it via Twitter.
The winners and their respective categories are as follows:
Emma Mitchell from Bradley Stoke Community School won: The most interesting technician job featured
Benjamin Lai from Holy Trinity School, Northwood won: The most creative scene
"@NTAB04 created this scene for #TMiHPhotoComp from Lewis School Pengam "Many Technicians make light work" @BritSciAssoc"
Nathan Bolter from Lewis School Pengam won: The best descriptive Tweet
Aanyaa Jajodia from Hounslow Heath Infant & Nursery School won: The people’s choice award
The shortlisted finalists were invited to the celebration event being held at Thorpe Park to mark the end of the CREST Award's 30th anniversary year. The winners received an array of prizes, including a Nikon DSLR camera kit and Fujifilm instant cameras.
Maria Rossini, Head of Education at the British Science Association, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the finalists of this fantastic competition. The standard of entries was very high so it was a difficult choice for us to make, but everyone did brilliantly. We loved seeing the creative and innovative approaches taken by students, and seeing the huge variety of technicians featured in their photos. The Technicians Make it Happen competition and wider campaign has provided a great platform for a profession that is often overlooked or misunderstood. It has been a pleasure to be involved and we hope it will have inspired many young people to explore these wonderful and varied career paths.”
Michelle Rea, Communications Manager at the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, said: “It has been so encouraging to see all of the superb entries that have been submitted to the Technicians Make it Happen photo competition. The standard has been excellent and it is wonderful to see young people of all ages engaging with the fantastic careers on offer for technicians in this country. Congratulations to the winners and all those who took part.”
Josh Uwadiae, CEO of WeGym and member of the Technicians Make it Happen photo competition judging panel, said: "The event at Thorpe Park was extremely inspiring. The attention to detail of the entries to the Technicians Make it Happen photo competition blew me away. I can't believe how young the entrants were, honestly, I don't think I could have crafted such beautiful photos! I really hope we can hire some of these superstars one day. Congrats to all of the winners and to everyone who took part - never stop creating and breaking things!"
You can see all of the entrants on the Pinterest board or by searching #TMiHPhotoComp on Twitter.