Schoolgen has announced the winners in the Mean Green House Competition 2014 – a promotion that challenges students to design a cutting-edge energy-efficient house that uses solar energy. They are:

• Primary ( Year 5 – 6): Waterloo School, Lower Hutt
• Intermediate (Year 7-8): Raroa Intermediate School, Wellington
• Secondary School ( Year 9 -10): Rangitoto College, Auckland

Congratulations to all the winners.

Are your students the great sustainable architects of the future? If you’re looking for a way to engage them next year, Schoolgen’s Mean Green House competition could be the perfect opportunity.

It helps promote inquiry learning, offering teachers the opportunity to incorporate a range of skills and challenges into the learning process – from planning and decision making, to design and construction. Entries can showcase their computer skills with 3D design tools like Autodesk (autodesk.com) or SketchUp (sketchup.com). In addition, Schoolgen provides a range of resources that enable teachers to link the competition to the New Zealand Curriculum.

For some inspiration, check out the winning videos to see what this year’s winners achieved – or read our previous coverage ‘Engage students with the Mean Green challenge’. Look out for details of next year’s challenge in early 2015.

Find out more at schoolgen.co.nz