Got a knack for creating neat projects using LEGO bricks? Well here’s a contest with a twist.
On Friday, Feb. 21 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Beuth House, the College’s Biology Club will host a bio-building competition.
Open to all students, individuals or teams will have 35 minutes to build a bio-related structure using the colorful, interlocking plastic bricks.
Projects will be judged on three criteria: relevance to biology, aesthetics and the quality of the student/team explanation. Winners will receive a gift card for a store to be determined.
This is the second year the Biology Club has staged the contest. Last spring, more than a dozen competitors created structures including a biodome, a circular virus and Ribonucleic acid (RNA), large biological molecules that perform multiple vital roles in the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes.
Last year’s winning design was created by Alison Curley ‘16 and Marian Chee ‘16, who built a jungle landscape.
“It’s all very cool,” said Salman Syed ’14, co-president of the Biology Club (along with Gerardo Reyes ’15). “There’s really no learning curve. We all played with LEGOs as kids.”
While last year’s event proved popular (in addition to the competitors, several dozen people showed up watch) Syed said this year’s contest was moved to the winter term in hopes of generating even more interest.
“We figure people will be looking for something to do inside early on a Friday night,” said Syed, a double major in chemistry and philosophy.
The contest could also see a bump from the popularity of The Lego Movie, which has been the top draw at the box office the first two weeks of its release.
“We weren’t counting on that when we changed the date of the contest,” he said. “But maybe people will be remembering when they used to play with LEGOs.”