Last week, the Niles West library hosted a pipe cleaner-making contest in the arts and crafts section. Students were able to express their creativity by creating different objects out of pipe cleaners.

The library has held a lot of different activities this year from hosting Nintendo Switch with Friends to bringing in bats for Halloween. Librarian Vicki Pietrus wanted to do something different that would bring enjoyment to a student’s day. Pietrus came up with the idea by seeing how successful one of their other arts and crafts activities was.

“We did a craft for Dia De Los Muertos in October. This craft involved pipe cleaners and a lot of the students played with just the pipe cleaners. So, I thought it would be a good idea to turn what the students were involved in and looked like they enjoyed doing, and expand on it,” Pietrus said.

There were many supplies for students to use ranging from googly eyes to popsicle sticks. Sophomore Riddhima Brahmbhatt was one of the many students that participated in this activity.

“I really enjoyed making things out of the pipe cleaners. My friend and I collaborated and helped each other through the process. I also liked how there were a lot of supplies to choose from, making students have creative freedom,” Brahmbhatt said.

As students finished up their creations, they named and placed them where students and teachers were able to view them. This allowed the students and teachers to vote for their favorite on Friday, Dec. 1.

“I hope students enjoyed this activity as much as I did. It brought me joy seeing students’ creativity being displayed,” Pietrus said.

On Friday Dec. 1,  around noon, students could vote through a Google form. Senior Rylie Gordon was the winner of the pipe cleaner contest. Junior Jonathan Vasilas finished in second while Freshman Nicole Javate finished in third.

“I made Mr. Little Money Man, the dinosaur, to stay in the theme with Dinosaur December. I wanted to make something silly that would make people smile. I hope the library plans other activities like this one since I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t see a lot of people participating but I think they should. I had such a fun time,” Gordon said.

On Monday Dec. 4, there was a ceremony held right after school for the winner to show off their creation. If you didn’t get to participate in this arts and crafts activity, make sure to check out what the library has planned for Dinosaur December!