Castles made of sand have a way of washing into the surf, but castles made of canned tomatoes, it turns out, are a good deal more practical.
The annual Canstruction design competition and canned-food drive nets a lot of help for the St. Louis-area needy; this year, the project is expected to rake in more than 56,000 cans of donated food, which goes to the St. Louis Area Foodbank and the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.
The castles and other structures made entirely from stacks of cans are expertly created by St. Louis architects, engineers and students. You can check them out through Monday, April 5, in the first floor west gallery of the Missouri History Museum during regular museum hours. And for a peek at the winners of the international Canstruction competition, including a dandy Mr. Potato Head, Chinese takeout box and octopus attacking a submarine, head to the organization’s Web site.
– Byron Kerman
This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2010.