Ekeagwu Onyekachi, 20, Jevaughn Taylor, 19, Iragena Serge Bangamwabo, 20, Abhishek Yonghang-Subba, 18, and De’onte Green, 19, were on a student team from Baltimore at the White House Science Fair on May 27, according to a press release.
Photos from the White House blog
For their project, the team, pictured above on the left, harnessed the power of the sun to create a working mini “hovercraft” toy. The design—which includes three 6V motors, a 180-degree servo motor, and two 5V solar panels—started with a 3D model. These young researchers then built the physical prototype from recyclable, environment-friendly material. The resulting device, the Green Tech Solar Hovercraft, helped the team win first place at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Baltimore STEM Business Plan Competition.
The students are studying a range of engineering- and computer science-related subjects in high school and college, and Mr Green will enter the US National Guard in June, after his high school graduation.
Some Chicago-area high school science students also met President Barack Obama at the White House Science Fair, WLS-TV (ABC affiliate) reports.
Lydia Wolfe, 16, and John Moore, 19, represented the Chicago Knights robotics team, an ambitious crew of of sixth through 12th graders from across Chicago’s South Side. Their team started its work in the basement of Ford City Mall at 76th and Cicero and, with its dedicated mentor, Jackie Moore, today exemplifies the mantra, “The game is not the prize … it’s the changes the game brings about in the kids.”
The team now thrives at Level Up, a shared learning space open to any student interested in STEM-based after-school programs, summer camps, and the idea of “making.” They’ve also moved out of the basement to a bigger, brighter space at the mall.
Back in Maryland, “Team Rocket Power,” based in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, was one of 100 teams that qualified for last year’s Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). It was also one of just nine all-girl teams that qualified for the student rocketry competition and the only African-American all-girl team.
As proud members of Team Rocket Power, Rebecca Chapin-Ridgely, 17, Jasmyn Logan, 15, and Nia’mani Robinson, 15, pictured above on the right, gave up their weekends and free time after school to build and test their bright purple rocket—which is designed to launch to an altitude of about 750 feet, and then return a “payload” (an egg) to the ground safely. The girls are looking forward to applying their rocketry expertise in diverse fields when they get to college, including medicine, journalism, and architecture.
At the science fair, President Obama was cautious, the Christian Science Monitor noted, knowing that his own school science experiments had resulted in dead plants and some free-range rodents. But nothing blew up this year, unlike what the Monitor called the “marshmallow cannon incident of 2012.”
In all, over 100 students from more than 30 states participated in the White House Science Fair, hosted by President Obama, celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. This year’s fair included a specific focus on girls and women who are excelling in STEM and inspiring the next generation with their work.
Major STEM initiatives also announced
The president also announced new steps as part of his Educate to Innovate campaign, a wide-reaching effort to get more girls and boys inspired to excel and to provide the support they need to succeed in these in these vital subjects. A few components of the campaign announced were:
- A new $35 million Department of Education competition, in support of the President’s goal to train 100,000 excellent STEM teachers
- A major expansion of STEM AmeriCorps to provide STEM learning opportunities for 18,000 low-income students this summer
- A national STEM mentoring effort kicking off in seven cities, as well as new steps by leading technology and media companies, non-profits and others to connect more students to STEM
“When students excel in math and science, they’re laying the groundwork for helping America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” President Obama said in a release. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects.”
