Or: M-H-L&T Elementary School, Team Coach Lisa Ahlers, 715-356-5206

AUBURN, NY—April 29, 2004—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won four students from M-H-LT Elementary School in Minocqua, WI, a berth as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. Eighth-graders Kayla Hartzheim, Ayn Rassier, Elyse Kleifgen and Liza Harrold, and their teacher Lisa Ahlers, had made it to the semifinals earlier this month and now are one of eight teams in the country to compete for the grand prize.

Concerned that high-speed traffic along Highway 51 was making a morning bicycle ride to school far too dangerous for fellow students, this team of eighth graders devised a solution: a combination bicycle/pedestrian trail along the highway and a crosswalk with flashing lights to enable the students to cross from the nearby Timber Ridge subdivision to M-H-LT Elementary. The students hope to include a volunteer crossing guard as well.

As part of their project, the students met with transportation planners and engineers and gathered research on traffic patterns in the area. They presented their ideas to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Minocqua Town Board, which passed a non-binding resolution committing to partial funds for the project. Wisconsinís state-funded Enhancements Program could refund up to 80% of the monies spent on the project to Minocqua. If the team wins the competition, they could receive an additional grant of $25,000 to implement the project. In 2002, a team from M-H-LT, coached by Ms. Ahlers, won the $25,000 grant for a program to prevent the spread of milfoil in Wisconsin lakes.

"Nearly 11,000 cars drive pass by our school every day and on parts of the road, they are traveling at 55 mph," the students said. "We wanted to make sure that students who were crossing from Timber Ridge or riding their bikes to school could arrive safely."

A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education judged this idea as one of the top eight entries in the U.S. Over 1,200 students participated nationwide.

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. The program is now in its eighth year and has attracted more than 14,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation with support from the National Science Foundation and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. 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 Pennsylvania who developed a video/motion sensor device for school buses that deters motorists from trying to pass illegally.

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 draw a broader range of students to enter.

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