Glasgow Science Festival

Creating Engineers 2026

The 2026 competition ran in four stages, first was a Classroom Challenge held in each primary school classroom. The winners of this then went on to a Cluster Challenge competing against other classroom winners. Cluster Challenge champions were then invited to one of three regional finals hosted at:

  • The Bridge in Dumfries for pupils in Dumfries & Galloway
  • Glasgow Clyde College for pupils in the Clyde region
  • New College Lanarkshire campus for pupils in the Lanarkshire region.

Contestants within the top third of their regional final were invited to the Grand Final, held on the 27th May 2026 at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow to compete for the title of 'Glasgow Science Festival Creating Engineers Champions 2026'. 

Infographic containing information and statistics about the 2026 Creating Engineers competition.

The Grand Final

The title of Creating Engineers Champions 2026 was contested by 20 teams. The teams were challenged to build a Commonweatlh Games transport vehicle with the following specifications:

Your vehicle must:

  • Have space for at least 4 athletes to sit.
  • Contain a steering mechanism.

Your detachable trailer must:

  • Contain a locking mechanism to securely attach the trailer to the vehicle.
  • Contain doors which can open and close.
  • Have space to store the athletes equiptment.

We saw a huge range of fantastic models from all pupils but eventually our team of judges crowned Matilda and Carl from Mosshead Primary the champions and Harsimran and Ross from Glenmanor Primary School the runners up.

Huge congratulations to all teams who participated, especially our winners and runners up. 

Creating Engineers 2026 Champions Model

A Kn'ex model in front of a shield

Creating Engineers 2026 Runners Up

Two children holding a K'nex model standing in front of a Glasgow Science Festival banner

 

Creating Engineers at Glasgow Science Festival

The Creating Engineers winning models were displayed as part of the Glasgow Science Festival Activity Days where the public were able to view this display and have a go at creating their own model!

Photograph showing the winning Creating Engineers model on display at the Riverside Museum.

Photograph of two children with a creating engineers model.