The provincial awards ceremony for the project took place this morning, Tuesday 9 April, at the hangar of the Cuneo Airport in Levaldigi “Eureka! Works!”, the entrepreneurship orientation and education project promoted by Federmeccanica, in agreement with the MIUR, intended for primary school children and aimed at orienting primary school students to “know-how” this year focused on the theme “Creating a movement ”. The 2024 edition was attended by the schools of the municipalities of Alba, Barge, Bra, Cuneo Oltrestura, Diano d’Alba, Villanova Solaro, Racconigi, Sanfrè, Verzuolo, Villanova Mondovì and San Michele Mondovì, involving around 400 students and students, for a total of 84 artefacts presented.
«This is my sixth edition of “Eureka! Works!” as president of the Mechanical Section of Confindustria Cuneo – he declares Marco Costamagna– and every year I observe with the same emotion the beautiful works created by the students of the fifth classes of the primary schools of our province. The 2024 edition saw the event return to pre-Covid levels, with a very high number of participants, which we are particularly pleased with. Above all, we are positively impressed by the quality of the products offered, some of which are characterized by a significant technological level: this gives us hope for the future of the metalworking sector. Our hope is that one day, many of these young people – also mindful of the beautiful experience of “Eureka! Works!” – can decide to become engineers or technicians to carry forward the technological progress that characterizes our province. At the basis of this school project is the intention of making known and applying the elementary, but still complex, principles of mechanics, to stimulate the new generations to become familiar with “know-how” and scientific-technological subjects. Starting from the last year of primary school means taking a first step, but a particularly important one, because in a year and a half the boys and girls who participated in “Eureka! Works!” they will have to make a choice about which secondary school to enroll in and therefore it is essential to introduce them to topics related to the world of mechanics. Our province is succeeding, because every year schools respond well to “Eureka! It works!”, always involving a large number of classes».
There was an air of great curiosity at the entrance to the airport, both for the desire to discover the work carried out by the various groups and for the unprecedented location: at the hangar, next to the Cuneo landing strip, it was possible to admire not only moving toys, the result of the brilliant ingenuity and enthusiasm of the new generations, but also colorful and impressive aircraft that captured the attention of those present . The evaluation commission, composed of Annalisa Pastore of Bipaled of Bra, representing the Young Entrepreneurs Group, Fabrizio Carle, professor at the “Vallauri” Higher Institute of Fossano, and Marco Costamagna, president of the Mechanical Section and managing director of Biemmedue Spa, decreed the podium (with the first classified who will participate in the national final, scheduled for 16 May in Turin) and some special prizes. They were delivered by Marco Costamagna himself, “host” and presenter of the event, accompanied by Giuliana Ciriogeneral director of Confindustria Cuneo, Silvia AllochisStudio Leonardo Srl, e Mauro Danna, deputy director of Confindustria Cuneo. The morning ended with the surgery Aron Buiat, from Enav, the body that manages Italian airspace, which took the students on a journey through national and international skies. The project was supported by Confindustria Cuneo and the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, while the final day was able to count on the contribution of Ferrero Spa, Bottero spa, Alstom Italia, Lurisia and Studio Leonardo.
Below are the details of the prizes awarded:
1st Place – Candidate for the National Competition
San Michele Mondovì Comprehensive Institute, “Francesco Vaglio” Elementary School
Name of the artifact: “The wheel of the regions”built by the “I susini mechanical” group
Motivation: quality and complexity of the project idea; complete application of the principle of movement; excellent operation; conciliation of playful aspects with those of learning; very pleasant aesthetics; the only ones to present the project using IT support (advertising).
“Willy Burgo” Primary School in Verzuolo
Name of the artifact: “The 2,000 points under the sea”built by the “Macchina giallo” working group
Motivation: complete application of the principle of movement; excellent operation; harmony in the proportions of the product and in the chromatism; complete use of all kit components; takes care of drafting the logbook and advertising which is aligned with the project idea.
“Gianni Rodari” Elementary School in Alba
Name of the artifact: “The bear is hungry” built by the group “The Friends of Animals”
Motivation: complete application of the principle of movement; good attention to detail (battery cover); balanced use of colors.
Best Technical Designer
Bra School 1, “Edoardo Mosca”
Name of the artefact: “Little theater in space” from the “Little geniuses” group
Reason: One of the few artefacts accompanied by a quality technical drawing both from the point of view of proportions, dimensions and technical concepts.
“Giovanni Arpino” School, Sommariva Del Bosco (Sanfrè)
Artifact name: “I Love cable car” from Group 1
Motivation: Original, complex design idea that invites players to be creative. Product made with attention to detail.
Best Logbook Extender
Bra School 1, “Edoardo Mosca”
Name of the artifact: “Ferris Wheel” from the “Junior Einstein” group
Reason: Appreciation of the completeness and originality in the extension of the diary, despite it being handwritten (very tidy, understandable handwriting, pleasant choice of color as well as good respect for proportions)
Madonna Del Pasco School, Villanova Mondovì
Name of the artefact: “Save the bee” by the “Api” working group
Motivation: topical message on a highly sensitive green topic; graphically well done, as is the aesthetics of the project
