Children in grades k-12 and their families were able to observe and share a variety of engineering projects and exhibits at the Aiken K-12 Maker Faire.

More than 750 people attended the Nov. 21 fair, which was held in the Davis Center according to  UVM communications.

The fair, which is Vermont’s first for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, was hosted by the creators of the Champlain Mini Maker Faire in conjunction with the University, according the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences’ website.

The Champlain Mini Maker Faire is an event where people of all ages can display homemade projects  to other engineers and community members, according to the organization’s website.

The fair featured CEMS’ annual Technology and Science Connection challenge, where students compete to build a device to meet an engineering challenge, according the college’s website.

In this year’s challenge, contestants had to create a device to tilt a flat surface in order to move tennis, lacrosse and golf balls into different zones to score points, according to the official TASC rules.

Contestants had to design the device, or “robot,” to move the balls into position and may be adapted from already commercially available products, such as remote control cars, according to TASC rules.
Teams were made up of two to six students in academic standing ranging from middle school to high school, according to TASC rules.