Some Assembly Required
A summer maker competition for middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults
June 30th - August 18th
Are you creative? If so, Some Assembly Required is for you!
Some Assembly Required is the Collaboratory’s sixth annual summer maker contest, with great prizes for the best of each category. The categories this year are: Art, DIY, Photography, Textile Arts, Upcycling, and Videography.
You may enter the contest via email from June 30th to July 26th. Votes are collected in-person and via likes on the library's Facebook page from August 4th to 16th.
There is a winner for each category and an overall Grand Prize winner. The winner of each category will receive a special laser cut prize and a $25 gift card to the Wallingford business of their choice. Since 2025 is the Red Carpet Summer here at the library, we’re giving special attention to the Videography category with an increased $50 prize for the top video! The Grand Prize winner will receive a Collaboratory-made trophy along with a $100 gift card to the Wallingford business of their choice. Collaboratory staff will select the Grand Prize winner among the category winners.
You may enter as many categories as you would like, but only one entry per category per person. Winners will be announced on August 18th.
Overall: June 30th - August 18th
Submissions accepted: June 30th - July 26th
Voting runs: August 4th - August 16th
Winners announced: August 18th
- Art
- DIY
- Photography
- Textile Arts
- Upcycling
- Videography
- Contestants must be in middle school or older.
- Entries must be made by the contestants.
- Contestants may make one submission per category.
- Entries do not have to be made in the Collaboratory.
- Submit entries by email to wplcollaboratory@gmail.com with the the subject Some Assembly Required Entry. Include a short write-up (2 sentences maximum) that helps voters understand the project or what the item is/does/is made from etc. Attach a single image of your project to your email. We will accept only one photo per entry. Videos are accepted only for the Videography category. We also will accept links to your personal YouTube videos as long as you can prove that it is your video and your account.
- Voting occurs in-person and online using likes on Facebook.
- Contestants' names will not be published during voting. When winners are announced, names are included (with consent).
- Art - Any medium (painting, drawing, digital etc.), any size. Must be an original work.
- DIY - Must be an original creation. DIY is a catch-all category that will cover anything that doesn’t explicitly fall under any other category. If you made it yourself, you can submit it here!
- Photography - Must be an original work. Any aspect ratio is acceptable.
- Textile Arts - Must be a finished work. Any size or medium is acceptable.
- Upcycling - Must use recycled objects to make something new. Any kind of creation is acceptable, as long as it is upcycled.
- Videography - Must be an original work, 5 minutes or less.