Michigan Technological University students transformed campus and downtown areas into a winter wonderland as they worked through the night constructing elaborate snow statues for the annual Winter Carnival competition.
From the Houghton Waterfront Pier to various campus locations, students built impressive snow sculptures that drew community members and alumni to observe their progress. The event showcased both month-long projects and all-nighter statues created in a single evening.
First-year students Cole Thurne and Zach Evon took on the challenge of building the only statue on the downtown pier, a task that brought both excitement and pressure.
“Definitely getting exciting, definitely some pretty big statues going up so it’s pretty cool,” Thurne said.
Evon acknowledged the unique responsibility of their waterfront location.
“It’s awesome, it definitely raises the butterflies to make sure it looks good because there will be a lot of people that will come down here and see it,” he said.
On campus, students took advantage of this winter’s substantial snowfall, using specialized techniques to create sturdy building materials. The process involves packing snow into buckets and adding water to form solid building blocks.
“So we first pack in snow, and then we get a bucket of water so that it stays nice and sturdy and hard. It also makes it look real pretty and crisp,” said third-year student Nicole Keating.
Her teammate, Jade Swingrum, offered advice for newcomers to the winter tradition.
“I see a lot of students come out in, like, barely any winter gear. And I shed my coat because I’ve been working. But I think definitely you’ve got to make sure you’re bundled up and you’re ready to take on the night,” Swingrum said.
The event transforms what many consider a dreary time of year into an opportunity for campus-wide engagement and creativity.
“I know I fulfilled all of the efforts for our statue, but I get to go see what other people have done and what their take on the theme was. Because the creativity is the funnest part about this whole thing. But also I like that our campus is so involved and that isn’t just locked indoors. So it’s just fun to get out that week,” said Jayda Zauchowski, Alpha Sigma Tau statue chair.
As students rushed to Suomi Restaurant in downtown Houghton for breakfast and others caught up on sleep, statue judges began their evaluation process. Month-long statue judge Kyle Griffin noted that while all-nighter teams might lack some detail due to time constraints, the final products consistently impress.
“You don’t really do the first impressions. It’s more just like, when you come upon you judge them, because there’s so many more of them. And you don’t really have to look at boundaries, things like that. And you’re not looking at scale,” Griffin said.
Griffin, who joined the judging panel this year, expressed admiration for the campus tradition and a touch of envy for the unique college experience it provides.
“Super cool. Like, I’m like eternally jealous that the students have stuff like this because I didn’t have something like this when I was in college. It’s always really interesting to see what the students pick versus what maybe I would have done if I had done something. And so there’s been some really cool ones, Star Wars, Futurama. So it’s just really cool to see their creativity,” he said.
The Winter Carnival demonstrates how Michigan Technological University students create engaging opportunities to build community throughout the year. The tradition continues to bring people together and offers a different perspective on the winter season.
Blue Key Honor Society has posted official results for the snow statue competitions online. Winter Carnival activities continue throughout the weekend in Houghton. Find more details here.
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