Budding engineers: Youngsters from 25 Northland schools join Northpower EPro8 Challenge

The "Onerahi Primary 2" team with Carter Cleaver, Katie Gray, Izzy Bailey and Jackson Lusty try out their rollercoaster. Photo / Tania Whyte

Kids from 25 schools across Northland proved their superb engineering skills at this year's Northpower EPro8 Challenge, a hands-on science competition with exciting experiments.

Applying different science knowledge and using a lot of teamwork, students from years 5 to 8 were challenged to build roller coasters, automated supermarket trolleys and more.

After several days of tinkering and calculating, organiser Andrew Thiele has crowned the winners of last week's heats who will face each other in the grand regional finals this Wednesday and Thursday.

"We're at the start of the school year and the children didn't have much time to practise so it's amazing what they were able to achieve," Thiele said.

Mark Tairua, Sonny Walters, Zion Emile and Jono Hamson, year 6 from Tautoro School with their shopping trolley. Photo / Tania Whyte

He said the EPro8 Challenge was designed to take theoretical concepts out of the classroom and apply them to real-life projects with the hope to teach kids planning, communication and troubleshooting.

Friday's heat at co-hosting school Whangārei Intermediate was taken out by the "Parua Pros" from Parua Bay School who had to help Maui to slow down the sun.

As part of the challenge, they had to become Maui's engineers and work out how fast the sun travelled in order to capture it.

Katie Hayward, Year 6 student from the "Parua Pros" team, had taken part in the challenge before but she said she had learned a lot of new things on Friday.

"We have been working together really well and it was a lot of fun," Katie said.

Scott Peterson, 10, and Zaniah Reynolds, 9, from Paura Bay School concentrate on their project. Photo / Tania Whyte

Friday's Northpower EPro8 Challenge winners called "Paura Pros" are 10-year-olds Katie Hayward, Jake Shepperd, Lily Aubrey and Ashton Patterson. Photo / Tania Whyte

Finalists for the Northland Grand Final Year 7-8

•Tautoro School

•Kokopu School

•Maungakaramea School

•Ngunguru School

•Whangārei Intermediate

•Arapohue School

•Mangawhai Beach School

•Pouto School

•Ruawai College

•St Joseph's School – Dargaville

Finalists for the Northland Grand Final Year 5-6

•Tautoro School

•Hurupaki School

•Kaurihohore School

•Onerahi Primary School

•Parua Bay School

•Arapohue School

•St Joseph's School – Dargaville