From staff reports
A team of Cranberry students won second place in the sixth through eighth grade category at a STEM Design Challenge held March 26 at the Riverview Intermediate Unit 6.
The team’s project, titled “The Topper Dropper,” earned them the win. The students on the team include Jordan Zerbe, Dane Wenner, Kelsey Hanna and Lily Emanuele. They also earned the best presentation award.
Other local students who earned awards at the competition include Jakob Lopata, Paul Singh, Andrew Young and Maddy Strawbridge from St. Patrick School, who earned a teamwork award with their project titled “Leviathan”; Chloe Deeter, Raelynn Montgomery, Emily Rice and Cammi Deeter from Valley Grove, who won an award for their creativity with “Powerpuff Girls”; and Isaac Gourley, Kieran Fricko, Caleb Root and Ava Moore from Redbank Valley, who were awarded for having the best blueprint for their project titled “Crazy Kayak.”
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to encourage students to apply critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills across all of their content areas. The STEM Design Challenge is sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific. The challenge involves keeping a journal, developing a blueprint, using K’nex pieces to build the project, and then presenting to judges. This year’s challenge involved using the interlocking plastic rods and connectors to design an environmentally friendly machine that used motors to move objects six inches.
After the students completed their competition task, they participated in design-thinking makerspace stations, including marble runs with Q-BA-MAZE, designing weight bearing and tallest possible structures out of clothespins, clips, and craft sticks, and coding with Osmo. They also had an opportunity to participate in a show and tell of their projects with their peers.
