Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345 or ltopoleski@dymun.com
Or: Hyde Park Middle School, Phone: 702-799-4260
Las Vegas-Area Students Recognized in National Competition
Students Trying to Prevent Children from Playing with Fire with Childproof Matchbooks
AUBURN, NY—April 8, 2003—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won three students from Hyde Park Middle School in Las Vegas, NV, a berth as semifinalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities.
Forty percent of all fires involve young children and nearly two-thirds of these are caused by children playing with matches, according to the students who researched the issue with the National Fire Prevention Agency and local firefighters. The students—Kristin Jorgensen, MacKenzie Kenner and Kyle Bryant, and their science teacher Steve Loyd—were alarmed enough by the statistics to prompt them to develop a childproof matchbook.
The matchbook would have two hooks and latches on the cover. The students tested the design with children ranging in ages from 4-8 years old. While the children in the 7-8 year age range were able to open the latch, it took them about 20 seconds to do so. Children younger than that were not able to open the matchbook. The students talked with the Diamond Match Company and the U.S. Patent Office and believe they have a marketable idea.
A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education judged this idea as one of the top 30 Christopher Columbus Award entries in the U.S. Nearly 2,000 students participated nationwide.
A Chance to Compete at Walt Disney World®
On April 29, 10 of the 30 semifinalist teams will be named winners of an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Award's National Championship, June 20-26.
Rewards include $36,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds for the top three national winners. In addition, one team will bring home the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant to help bring its idea to life in the community.
The finalists also will attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational program. Conducted by scientists, engineers and educators, the program reveals the science and technology behind the thrills and excitement of Epcot® and the Magic Kingdom®.
Positive Community Change
The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. Formerly known as the Bayer/NSF Award, the program is now in its seventh year and has attracted more than 12,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation with cooperation from the National Science Foundation, and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Past winners have included a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a group of students from New Jersey who developed a technology to help deaf athletes communicate with their coaches while on the playing field.
Strong Participation from Girls, Minorities
The program attracts many students who may not typically enter a science competition. More than half of the entrants are girls, and more than a fourth are from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, statistics that are higher than those of most science competitions. The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation believes the teamwork aspect and community focus draws a broader range of students to enter.
For more information, please call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com