Needham Comes in Third in "Build It Better" Contest

A few weeks ago, Patch caught up with a Needham High School student, Liam Walsh, who wanted to take the bike rack at his school and "Build it Better."

The results of that contest are in, and Walsh's design came in third place. His design was one of ten finalists in the national contest. 

Walsh's design combatted a problem he had noticed: the bike rack by the school's main entrance was not being used. He believes because of its proximity to the school entrance and exposure to the elements leave bikes vulnerable to rust and vandalism. 

He came up with two solutions: one option places the bike rack in a covered alcove he drew inside the neighboring wall. A cheaper alternative, Walsh rotated the bike rack and placed nearer the wall, then covered it with a roof.

First place went to an Ohio student, Jonathon Crawford from Tri-Village Elementary School, who designed a faster, easier way for students to check out in the lunch line. The winning entry nets his school a $2,000 prize. 

When Patch spoke with Walsh a few weeks ago, he told us that even if he doesn't get enough votes to win the competition, he plans to seek out other grants and put his idea to school administrators for support of his design.