Eden Moyer didn’t used to know all that much about bamboo.
That has changed for the 10-year-old fifth grader at Fleetwood Middle School, thanks to a special competition.
Moyer was a member of a team from Fleetwood that took part in the Berks County Intermediate Unit’s 2026 STEM Design Challenge this week at the UGI training center in Bern Township.
Fourth grade students from Fleetwood Middle School display their You’ve Been Bamboozled project at the 12th annual Berks County Intermediate Unit’s STEM Design Challenge at the UGI Training Center, 1049 Stinson Drive, Bern Township, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. With their project are, from left, Eden Moyer, 10; Elijah Hartman, 10; Jackson Kemmerer, 10; James Kienle, 11; and Elizabeth Lem, 11. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
She and her teammates designed and built, using K’nex construction toys, a factory that turns bamboo into a variety of products. The experience opened Moyer’s eyes to the possibilities of a renewable resource.
“I didn’t know that bamboo could make furniture and clothes,” she said. “So that was really interesting.”
Her revelation is just the kind that the contest aims to spur.
Jillian Darlington, BCIU assistant program administrator, said the annual contest gives students a chance to show of their science and engineering skills, while also exploring new ideas and developing teamworking skills.
“Most of the teams do research, so this year they learned what makes something sustainable,” she said. “And they have to use creativity and teamwork.”
The competition is broken into two levels: one for students in fourth and fifth grades held Tuesday and one for students in grades sixth through eighth held Thursday.
Twenty-seven teams competed in the younger division, while 18 took part in the older division.
Each team was presented with a problem before the competition. This year the prompt was to design a section of a factory that produces a product using sustainable practices.
The students had to design their factory, then build it with K’nex on competition day. They then presented their creation to a panel of judges from local companies.
Darlington said the contest is about much more than just science and engineering knowhow, also taking into account the process by which the projects are created.
“I have seen that it’s not always the fanciest project that wins,” she said. “It’s when the students are engaged and really buy into their project.”
The team from Conrad Weiser West Elementary School certainly seemed to fit that bill.
The four fourth-grade boys spoke excitedly as they explained their project, a factory that uses windmill-generated power to convert metal cans into things like silverware and cups.
“It just came to us,” Cael Oberlin, 11, said with a shrug.
Fourth grade students from Conrad Weiser West Elementary School stand with their windmill project at the 12th annual Berks County Intermediate Unit’s STEM Design Challenge at the UGI Training Center, 1049 Stinson Drive, Bern Township, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. They are, from left, Dexter Bessler, 10; Ryder Ulrich; 10; Jackson Reinert, 10; and Cale Oberlin, 11. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The boys said they learned a lot while working on the project, particularly about how windmills work.
“We learned that if you put it at an angle, if you put it at a pitch, it will spin faster,” 10-year-old Dexter Bossler said.
Oberlin said he also learned about the importance of cooperation.
“We learned that if we all work together the build goes better,” he said.
And a good build was important to the boys, who admitted they also really enjoyed the chance to put their project up against those built by other students from across the county.
“It’s cool because we get to build something and do a competition,” a smiling Oberlin said.