Calling all year 5-12 school students in the Snowy Mountains!
Before Snowy Hydro’s newest tunnel boring machines (TBMs) start digging the Snowy 2.0 tunnels, they need to have names – and we want school students in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council and Snowy Valleys Council areas, and the Corryong township, to come up with their best STEM-related suggestions as part of our TBM Naming Competition.
There are two TBMs to be named, with the first Snowy 2.0 TBM already titled the Lady Eileen Hudson, in honour of original Snowy Scheme ambassador and the wife of inaugural Commissioner, Sir William Hudson.
TBMs are always given female names, a tradition stemming from the 1600s when miners working underground prayed to Saint Barbara for protection.
To be a part of the Snowy 2.0 TBM Naming Competition, students should nominate a ground-breaking or inspiring Australian woman in STEM and explain their choice in 200 words or less. The students whose shortlisted names gain the most public votes are the winners.
Snowy Hydro managing director and CEO Paul Broad said the competition was a fun way to spark children’s interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
“We see our local kids as the future – the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators at Snowy Hydro,” Mr Broad said.
“Snowy 2.0 is a nationally-important infrastructure and engineering project right here in the Snowy Mountains, so the chance to name one of our massive, 11-metre tunnel boring machines is an exciting opportunity. I encourage local students to get involved in the competition.”
To enter the Snowy 2.0 TBM Naming Competition, local students in years 5-12 should:
- Complete the entry form on the Snowy Hydro website by 11.59pm Sunday 23 May 2021.
- Nominate a TBM name inspired by a ground-breaking Australian woman in STEM and the reason for your choice (up to 200 words) on the competition webpage.
- Provide your parent or guardian’s name, email and street address and phone number so you can be contacted if your nomination is shortlisted for the community online vote.
Snowy Hydro will choose a shortlist from the names suggested by students for a public, online vote in June – keep an eye on Snowy Hydro’s social media channels and the Snowy Hydro website for details.
The two most popular names, as voted by the public, will be used to identify the Snowy 2.0 TBMs and the students who nominated them will receive a visit to the Snowy 2.0 construction site to see a TBM before it goes underground, plus a VIP experience at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma.
The Snowy 2.0 project is a nationally-significant renewable energy project that will provide 2,000 megawatts of on-demand energy and large-scale storage, underpinning Australia’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Together, the three Snowy 2.0 tunnel boring machines will excavate 27km of tunnels linking Tantangara and Talbingo dams, with a pumped-hydro power station to be built 800 metres below ground.
To enter, and for competition T&Cs, visit the competition page at snowyhydro.com.au