Kearny CTA, Crawford IDEA Students Compete in Canstruction Event

Kearny CTA students create their "Hunger is No Game" sculpture.

Sculptures created with food cans by students from Kearny High Construction Tech Academy (CTA) and Crawford’s School of Invention & Design Education Academy (IDEA) won awards for “Best Meal” and “Best Use of Labels” as part of the eighth annual Canstruction competition held recently at Horton Plaza.

CTA’s structure, “Hunger Is No Game,” was a 7-foot, 3-inch book representing the Hunger Games book/movie series and CTA’s advocacy in preventing hunger. CTA won the award for Best Meal and is in the running for a national award.

“Literacy is the biggest way to avoid poverty,” said Law Thao, president of the 18-member team.

IDEA’s sculpture “Ameri-Can” received the “Best Use of Labels” award. Built by only five students, the structure was made from canned tuna and tomato soup cans.

The event combines the elements of artistic expression, engineering, and charity by using food cans as the only construction material. No interior structural support is allowed. This year, the students competed against five other architecture and engineering firms in San Diego.

All sculptures remained standing for several days after the event, then the canned food is boxed up and donated to local food banks. For additional information about this year’s event, please see a recent story in the UT San Diego. For details about Canstruction in San Diego, visit http://www.canstructionsd.org/.