MIDALE, Sask. – A science fair project by two Grade 12 students from Midale, Sask., has turned into an award winning invention that farmers could really use.Erick Vandenhurk and Jarika Penny were down to the deadline to choose a project when they settled on designing and building a better grain bin lid.Existing lids blow open in the wind, allowing rain and birds to get inside. The lids are easily damaged and then don’t close properly.“They don’t last and they’re expensive to fix too,” said Vandenhurk.He has a special interest in farming and welding, which came in handy when he and Penny decided on their project.The lid is made of 12-gauge steel and none of the parts were prefabricated.The sliding lid folds in half when pulled open and is held in place by a wire. It isn’t completely watertight, but iron along the side helps keep moisture from getting in, Vandenhurk said.The lid sits on a slope so that wind holds it closed rather than blows it open.There are only two lids made so far. One has been on a bin at Vandenhurk’s family farm for about three months and the other was taken to Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., for the recent Canada-wide Science Fair.After winning their local science fair and the southeastern Saskatchewan region, the students spent nine days in Ontario at the national event where about 500 projects were evaluated.They won silver, placing behind a student who redesigned the airplane wing.They also received a Manning Innovation Achievement Award and the S.M. Blair Family Foundation Award for a project requiring a patent. Vandenhurk has applied for the patent and it is pending.They won a total of $2,200 and have offers of entrance scholarships from three universities.While Vandenhurk hopes to farm, Penny will attend the University of Saskatchewan to pursue science and education degrees.Next week, Vandenhurk will showcase the invention at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina where he is looking for feedback to improve the lid and find a company that wants to manufacture it.“I want to hear if it’s good or bad, one way or the other,” he said.He said engineers with doctorate degrees have already looked at it and declared it a winner. And he has a lawyer to offer advice in case manufacturers take an interest.It could use some tweaking and should be a colour other than black.Penny said the judges liked the simplicity and functionality of their design.Neither student could say why no one has developed a better bin lid by now, other than the fact that simple things sometimes just become too complicated.“Everybody knows what’s wrong but nobody thinks about changing it,” Penny said.
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