Two Midale Central School students have received national attention for designing a new kind of grain bin lid that farmers like themselves can appreciate, earning a prestigious award for their efforts.Grade 12 students Erick Vandenhurk and Jarika Penny received the Manning Innovation Achievement Award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Peterborough, Ontario for their engineering project. "Apparently it's a pretty prestigious award," said Vandenhurk. "Eight projects were selected and we were one of eight."The pair competed against nearly 500 finalists at the national fair. They also earned the S.M. Family Memorial Award and a silver medal in the senior engineering category. The awards came with a total of $2,200 in prize money, which was split among the two.
"We didn't really go to Peterborough expecting to win anything," said Penny. "We were honoured and proud to represent our school and region."Vandenhurk said he came up with the idea for the lid when he and his father were mulling over what he and Penny could do for their school science project."I kind of wanted to do something agriculture related," said Vandenhurk. "I drew-up a rough draft, welded it together in the shop and it turned out great."Vandenhurk said that he and Penny teamed-up for the science fair because they had always been close friends."I welded it and she painted it," said Vandenhurk. "It was a good team effort."Vandenhurk explained that existing grain bin lids have several flaws, including failure to close, allowing water to seep in and birds getting inside.
Penny and Vandenhurk's simple design for a sliding bin lid solves the problems that come with springs and tension rods. Wind doesn't blow open the lid and water slides off rather than pooling on top."Our lid is different because it slopes," Vandenhurk said. "It uses weight to close it. Bins now use springs and all that fancy stuff but this one doesn't. It's just very simple."Vandenhurk said that their bin lid garnered a lot of interest at the Canada-Wide Science Fair."During the public viewing there was lots of interest from farmers and even some mechanical engineers," said Vandenhurk.Penny and Vandenhurk said that they are excited to see what the future holds for their bin lid."It could open a million opportunities, it may not open one at all," said Vandenhurk. "Only time will tell."For now, the pair is focusing on their high school graduation and post-secondary school plans for the fall.Penny plans to attend the University of Saskatchewan to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, while Vandenhurk plans to take a one-year agricultural mechanics course at SIAST Kelsey campus. He intends to take over the family farm with his brother.Both teenagers enjoy working on their family farms near Midale, but could not deny that the national attention they have received for their invention has made an impact."The whole national fair itself was a great experience," said Penny. "To see all the different projects and different ideas that everyone had - it just made me think even more about everything in the science world."Vandenhurk will be showing the award-winning bin lid at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina from June 16 to 18 in the New Inventions Showcase.
