Discovery Park of America is hosting the Canstruction Jr. competition on Feb. 1, 2024. This event is open to local students 10 to 18 years of age.

Each team will design a 3-D structure, using only canned goods and other limited, approved materials. Thanks to generous support from our sponsors, Allen Searcy Builder-Contractor, Inc., Ben E. Keith Foods, Homestead Timbe Frames and Westan Insurance Group, teams can purchase canned food for their sculptures. Teams are also allowed to host canned food drives and fundraisers if additional cans are needed.

On the day of the event, teams from the local area will bring their cans to Discovery Park where they will assemble their sculptures in an 7′ L x 7′ W x 7′ H area within a three hour time frame. The sculptures will be judged and awards presented to the winners.

The creative sculptures made only with cans and approved materials will be on display at Discovery Park Feb. 1 – Mar. 4, 2024.

Registration will open on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023 and will close on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Space is limited and the competition is restricted to 10 teams. Only one team per school may apply. The registration form may be found at https://forms.office.com/r/rQszx1tUtg.

For more information, please contact Michael Larkin at mlarkin@discoveryparkofamerica.com.

History of Canstruction

Canstruction is an international hunger relief charity that raises millions of pounds of food each year for local food banks. Its youth events give students age 10-18 the chance to use art, design, math, and problem solving skills to create fantastic, innovative CanArt® structures using unopened cans of food. Canstruction is an international charity competition where architects, engineers, students and others compete by building structures out of canned food. At the end of each competition or exhibition, the food is donated to local hunger relief organizations. It was founded in 1992 by the late Chris Melillo and her colleagues from the Society for Design Administration. The first official competition was held in Nov. 1993. Since then, over 50 million pounds of food have been donated. More information, including a list of other exhibits and events, can be found at www.canstruction.org.