An idea from a Beaumont student has caught the attention of Canada’s top space engineering minds.

Amy Claerhout came up with her own version of the Canadarm as part of nationwide contest that gets young students thinking about space-related inventions.

Last spring, Amy, then a grade 6 student at École Beau Meadow School (EBMS), along with her classmates and other students from grades 3 and 4 at EBMS took part in a Little Inventors – Inventions for Space workshop, put on by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The best ideas from that event, along with others held across the country, were shortlisted and made into prototypes for the contest.

Amy’s idea was called The Personnel Canadarm – a mini version of a Canadarm for the washroom on the International Space Station with all the astronauts’ personal hygiene items attached so they don’t float out of reach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The idea was so practical, it was chosen as one of the top two ideas in Canada among the approximately 3,000 entries. Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques made the announcement on board the International Space Station and took a few moments to commend Amy on her idea.

Congratulations to Amy, and all the other BGRD students and staff who were involved in the contest!