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The best building blocks in the construction industry aren’t necessarily concrete or brick. At King Elementary School, they’re made of string, tin foil and Legos.

The Oregon City school recently served as the site of Block Kids for 2011. The annual event, sponsored by The National Association of Women in Construction Chapter No. 54, is designed to encourage young people to consider pursuing careers in construction.

For this year’s event, nearly 60 students at the school were given kits that each contained a piece of string, a piece of tin foil, cardboard and 100 Lego building blocks. The students had 45 minutes to turn the pile of items into a project.

The resulting creations were judged by a panel of local building industry professionals, who awarded points for creativity, originality and effective use of materials.

Sixth grader Philip Pompel captured first place with a replica of the oil rig involved in the oil spill in the Gulf last year. He told judges he wanted people to remember the spill so it wouldn’t happen again. His finish qualifies him to advance to a regional Block Kids competition scheduled for later this year, according to event organizers.

Second-place winner Davion Spaulding and third-place winner David McPherson joined Philip on the winners’ podium.