Fairchild Challenge at Phipps: Challenge #1 Winners Announced!

By Alyssa Mulé, High School Programs Coordinator

Thank you to the many schools that submitted entries for Challenge #1!  This first challenge of the 2024-2025 school year was titled “The Wonders of Wings". 

Elementary, middle and high school students combined both writing and visual arts skills in their submissions. This project challenged students to create a set of three to ten sculptures of birds, specifically focusing on their different methods of flight. Their artistic creations were meant to not only capture the beauty of these feathered creatures but also highlight the incredible adaptations that allow them to soar, glide and maneuver through the skies. All ornaments were made entirely from recycled, repurposed, and found materials. In addition to the sculptures, students were also tasked with writing a brief essay investigate how different wing shapes and sizes contribute to various types of flight, such as hovering, diving or long-distance migration. They were asked to consider why certain birds have evolved to have different wing structures and how these adaptations benefit them in their natural habitats. This year, the judges were absolutely blown away with the craftsmanship of the bird sculptures. The students did an incredible job!  We were astounded by the creativity, research, and thoughtful detail that students put into their sculptures and writing. Select sculptures from this challenge will be exhibited during our Winter Flower Show in the Gallery Room.

And the winners are:

High School

First: West Mifflin Area High School: Charlee Sommers 

Second: Gateway High School: Sarima Andah Wai-Ogosu, Bhavneesh Singh, Piper Munyon

Third: Shaler Area High School: Elise Williams, Grace Helbling, Grace Gabrowski, Abby Maher, Kai Ruefle

Third: Mars Area High School: Meredith Lindsay, Luka Zatchey, Olivia Airgood, Maddy Cawley, Avery Harrison

 

Middle School

First: Fort Cherry Junior High School: Lucy Celender, Claire O'Brien, Violet Pfeifer, Jillian Sheldon, Abbvy Washinski

Second: Archangel Gabriel Catholic School: Dillon Mattarochia, Lucas Wertelet, Philipp Sanders, Jacob Walsh, Karly Gill, Natalia Zottola, Caiden Price, August Stuckeman, Emily Williams, Abigail Williams, Mia Reilly, Anabelle Blystone, Ella Chestnut, Aria DiVito, Kennedy Kalich, Madelyn Bartko, Lily Militzer, Lizzie Sellman, Mia Gaffney, Eddie Nagel

Third: Trafford Middle School:Elena Southern, Ellasyn Tautkus-Berry

 

Elementary School Judges' Highlights

Acmetonia Elementary School

Archangel Gabriel Catholic Elementary School

This year, we received an overwhelming number of entries for this challenge! Congratulations to the following schools for having one or more of your ornaments chosen to be displayed in the Winter Flower Show: West Mifflin Area High School, Gateway High School, Shaler Area High School, Fort Cherry Senior High School, North Hills High School, Penn-Trafford High School, Woodland Hills High School, North Allegheny High School, Mars Area High School, Central Catholic High School, Fort Cherry Jr. High School, Archangel Gabriel Catholic School, Ingomar Middle School, North Hills Middle School, Carson Middle School, Environmental Charter School, Elizabeth Forward Middle School, Mars Area Centennial School, Keystone Oaks Middle School, Moon Middle School, Trafford Middle School, Penn Middle School, Provident Charter School, Avonworth Middle School, Wendover Middle School, Dickson STEAM Academy, Blessed Trinity Academy, Marshall Middle School, Mars Area Middle School, Gateway Elementary School, Queen of Angels Catholic School, Curtisville Primary Center, East Union Intermediate Center, Mars Area Elementary, Verner Elementary, Tenth Street Elementary, Grandview Elementary School, Tracy Elementary School, Edgewood Elementary STEAM Academy, Turtle Creek Elementary STEAM Academy, Gateway Middle School, Acmetonia Elementary, Ionta Middle School

 

We would like to give a special shout out to panelists: Dr. Maria Wheeler-Dubas (Phipps' Research and Science Education Outreach Manager), Lenka Platt (Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Naturalist Educator), Joanne Schreiber, MSEd (Phipps Volunteer), and Katie Manion (National Aviary Curator of Education). Thank you for lending us your time and expertise!

 

Have questions? Contact Alyssa Mulé at amule@phipps.conservatory.org, 412/622-6915, ext. 3905.

 

Developed by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Fl., and adopted by Phipps as a satellite partner in 2008, The Fairchild Challenge offers a menu of interdisciplinary challenges for grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12, attracting students of diverse interests, abilities, talents and backgrounds. The Challenge empowers young people to engage in civic life and encourages them to become energetic and knowledgeable members of their communities.