Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345 School Phone: 702-799-4260
Hyde Park Middle School Students Named Finalists in National Competition
Team Wins Trip to Walt Disney World® to Present Idea for a Baby Car Seat Alarm that Notifies Driver When a Child Has Been Left in the Car
WASHINGTON, D.C.—April 23, 2002—A team of three Hyde Park Middle School students from Las Vegas, NV, today became one of just 10 teams in the nation to be named finalists in the Bayer/National Science Foundation Award, a cutting-edge program that challenges middle school students to use science and technology to make their community a better place to live. The students noted by following their local news that infants were being inadvertently placed in danger when left in cars. "During the year 2001, the Las Vegas Fire Department responded to calls of over 600 babies being left in cars, in which three cases resulted in death," said seventh-graders Kelsey Hand, Rachelle Taylor and Athena Pisanello. To begin their quest to save lives, the three students conducted a survey to judge how many community members would buy a car seat alarm—and what they were willing to pay for it.
Coached by teacher Steven Loyd, the students also spoke to an expert about the medical side-effects of heat and cold exposure, and a meteorologist to learn how quickly car temperatures can spike on hot days. After three attempts at finding a practical and cost-effective method to warn parents that a child is still in the car, the team discovered a system by which a pressure pad beneath the baby seat activates a transmitter. This transmitter keeps
in contact with a transmitter on the parent’s or caregiver’s key chain—and should the parent or caregiver go more than twenty feet from the car, it beeps to alert them that the child has been left behind. They team hopes to launch the entry full-scale as they vie for the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant, seed money to help the team bring its idea to life in the community.
The students began developing their entry, titled ‘Baby Beeper,’ last Fall. They conducted research and worked with community leaders and other mentors to develop and test their solutions, then submitted an entry comprised of written and visual components. A national panel of judges selected their proposal as one of the top 10 from among more than 600 entries submitted nationwide. Nearly 2,500 students participated.
Teams to Compete for $25,000 Grant, Savings Bonds at Walt Disney World®
As finalists, each team and their coach have won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort from June 14-21, where they will compete in the Bayer/NSF Award’s National Championship. The first-, second- and third-place teams will receive up to $20,000, $12,000 and $4,000 in savings bonds, respectively. One finalist team will win the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant
While in Orlando, the students will present their projects to a prestigious panel of national judges and attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational experience that explores the science and technology of the theme park as well as the Space Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center.
The 2002 Bayer/NSF Award National Championship judging panel includes: Renee Wilkerson Anderson, Teacher, Grant High School; Steve Culbertson, CEO, Youth Service America; Greg Hale, Vice President Design & Engineering and Regulatory Compliance, Walt Disney Company; Dr. William Warren, CEO, SCIPERO,Inc.; Dr. James Youniss, Life Cycle Institute, Catholic University.
Other finalists include: "Stopping Carts," from Brandon, MS; "Quiet Car Alarms," from San Diego, CA; "Going Buggy for Amish Roadway Safety," from Sullivan, OH; "Pendulum Braking System for Wheelchairs," from North Wales, PA; "Ladder Maniacs," from Summerville, SC; "Plateau Preservation," from Crossville, TN; "Project Red Arroyo," from San Angelo, TX; "Comfort Quest," from Manassas, VA; and "Milfoil Master," from Minocqua, WI.
Attracting Kids to Science and Community Service
Sponsored by Bayer Corporation as part of its Making Science Make Sense program, the National Science Foundation, and the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, the Bayer/NSF Award was created after studies revealed that middle school is the stage where U.S. students fall behind their peers around the world in science achievement.
Now in its sixth year, the program is endorsed by the National Middle School Association and incorporates many of the recommendations of the National Science Education Standards, emphasizing teamwork, inquiry and real-world settings to attract students to science, technology and community service.
For more information, visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com or call 1-800-291-6020.
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