With 3-D printer, Iqaluit students built robots for Nunavut skills contest

More than 65 students from across Nunavut will compete in 17 different trades and technology events, including carpentry, culinary arts, and graphic design, this weekend in Iqaluit.

The gold medallists at the territorial skills competition will go on to compete at the national skills competition in New Brunswick in June.

A group of students from Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit are regulars in the robotics competition. But this year they'll have some competition for the first time ever, as a class from Gjoa Haven stepped up to the challenge.

"Hopefully we can collaborate and get their team stronger," said Steve Carter, a teacher at Inuksuk High School and the robotics team's coach.

"We've been doing this for 10 years so we have a bit of an advantage in that sense. But you never know."

The challenge is to use a remote­-controlled robot to pick up nearly a dozen wooden pieces and, one-by-­one, assemble them like a puzzle to build a model boat. The first team to complete the boat wins.

Carter's team of Grade 9 and 10 students spent more than 100 total hours building two robots for the competition through an after­school robotics program. They even made some pieces from scratch with their in-­house 3D printer.

"Personally, it's like a kid in a candy store," Carter said about the experience.

"I absolutely love this kind of stuff. I get to play with cool things, design cool things and use a 3D printer. If I wasn't in this type of job or volunteering this kind of position, I wouldn't have that and it just excited the kid in me."

Another veteran competitor is 21-­year­-old Sam Pauppa from Arviat. He's competing in the TV and video production competition and is aiming to better his silver medal from last year.

A prospective broadcaster with fluent Inuktitut skills, Pauppa says this competition is a good opportunity to put his video skills to the test.

"I love cameras. It's my [passion]," Pauppa said.

"I learn new stuff and what angles to use, and how to operate the camera and interview people. Learn some new shots, too."

Making her debut at the competition is Jane Innuaraq ­Singoorie from Pond Inlet. Coming from a community famous for its scenic views, it comes as little surprise her skill is photography.

Her face lit up as she described the favourite photo she ever took – a portrait of her two young nieces shoulder-­to­shoulder, with the Bylot Island mountains in the background – but it's the intricate aspects of working a digital camera that drew her to photography.

"From the first time I saw a Nikon camera, I said 'Wow, I should try to learn about that camera,'" she said. "And then as I get older, I learned about the Nikon camera. I said 'Woah! That's a lot of features!'"

The territorial skills competition runs Saturday at Inuksuk High School.