December 1, 2016
WALNUT, CA--Vinnie Vaquero is the name of the Lego scarecrow recently created out of 322 empty milk cartons by Vejar Elementary students.
He stands just under six-feet-tall and is the spitting image of the popular snap-together building toys.
A team of students showed creativity during the fun, hands-on projects offered through Made by Milk’s Carton Construction Contest.
They used design, engineering, construction, and art skills to give their school a chance to win one of 14 prizes, up to $5,000.
Students rinsed out empty milk cartons and let them dry thoroughly before beginning the project.
“It was a great experience,” said teacher Giselle Cordova whose 2nd and 3rd graders worked on the project with teachers Jennifer Troudy and Laura Saenz, instructional aides, and 5th grade students.
The Made by Milk contest fit perfectly with Vejar’s efforts to increase recycling and become an eco-friendly campus. Green team volunteers helped collect milk cartons each day at lunch for the project.
One design challenge students faced was figuring out how to make Vinnie’s round head using rectangular prisms, said Cordova.
The solution was opening up the cartons to make flat sheets and then combining them.
Students tackled cutting the milk cartons apart, forming into needed shapes, and finally painting them.
They were also excited to add their their extensive knowledge of Lego pieces.
The Lego “nubs” were created with strips rolled into rings and topped with circles cut out of the cartons.
Vinnie the Scarecrow has a unique talent - he waters plants!
“Since our special education classes make a scarecrow every year, so we decided to invent one that had a job,” Cordova explained.
Cast your vote for Vejar’s Vinnie Vaquero the Lego Scarecrow through December 9 at http://madebymilkcontest.com/see-entries/entries-details/?id=1040.
By Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources
Shown:
Vejar Elementary students cleverly created a Lego scarecrow for their entry in a contest sponsored by Made by Milk.