Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345, ltopoleski@dymun.com
Or: The Wyndcroft School, Team Coach Kristen Nagurny, 610-326-0544
- UPDATE -
Area Middle-School Students Named as One of Eight Finalist Teams in National Competition—Win Trip to Walt Disney World®
Students Plan to Develop Hand-Held Grocery Scannerto Quickly, Accurately Identify Food Allergens on Product Labels
AUBURN, NY—April 29, 2004—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won four students from area schools in Pottstown, PA, 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. St. Aloysius sixth-graders Jodie Leyfert and Alyse Ameer, The Wyndcroft School sixth-grader Alexa Tietjen, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary seventh-grader Ryan McDevitt, and their coach, science teacher Kristen Nagurny, 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.
People who are allergic to peanuts, dyes and other food allergens know it all too well: deciphering a food label can be confusing and potentially life threatening since many allergy-causing ingredients go by different names according to the manufacturers.
After consulting with the Food and Drug Administration and experts in barcode and database technologies, and studying the labels of hundreds of food items, this team of students developed their own handheld scanner system that shoppers can use to quickly and accurately read product labels to flag eight different allergens—primarily dyes and nuts—that go by up to 72 different names depending on the manufacturer.
The students developed custom barcodes for each item, under all of its names, and tested it on actual product labels. The scanner works pretty much flawlessly and the students hope to turn it into a real product if they win the top prize of the competition—the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant.
"So many people, including on our team, are allergic to peanuts and dyes and itís hard to tell whether these items are actually in some common foods we buy," the students said. "We hope to eliminate this burden for people shopping and reduce the risk that they will unknowingly ingest an allergen."
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.
Team Wins a Trip to Walt Disney World®
The team wins an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Awards' National Championship Week, June 19-24, plus a $200 grant to further develop their ideas.
Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winner will receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders.
The finalists will also 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. 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.
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 draw a broader range of students to enter.
For more information, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.
###