Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345 Or: River Bluff Middle School

ltopoleski@dymun.com Teacher Kendra Larmour, 608-877-5552

A Team of Students from River Bluff Middle School in Stoughton Named Finalists in National Science/Community Service Competition

Win Trip to Walt Disney World®

River Bluff has Won or Placed in Finals Three of Last Four Years

AUBURN, NY,—April 21, 2006—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won a team of students from Stoughton, WI, a spot as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. River Bluff Middle School Science Teacher Kendra Larmour, and her students, eighth-grader Skye Greenler and seventh-graders Alex Greenler, Kira Wermuth, and Jessie Fanshaw, had placed as semi-finalists earlier this month and will now compete in a group of eight finalist teams nationwide vying for the grand prize—the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant. Their project aims to end the nightmare of potential danger that sleepwalkers face.

While more than half of us have sleepwalked at least once in our lives, those who do it regularly—typically children aged 6-12—may be all too familiar with the dangers it poses including tripping or falling down stairs. In some extreme cases, sleepwalkers have been known to drive cars or even commit crimes.

To find out just how prevalent sleepwalking is in the Stoughton area, these students conducted a survey and found that more than half of the respondents either sleepwalked or had family members who did. In addition, two of the team members regularly sleepwalk and two have family members who do and who have suffered injuries as a result. The students decided it was time to end this nightmare by using a remote alarm that other family members can hear so they can take action when a sleepwalker takes his or her first steps. Using motion sensing technology, the device is tripped by the sleepwalker as he or she crosses over a bedroom doorway, and transmits a signal to sound an alarm in a parent or other family member’s bedroom.

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 and coaches participated nationwide.

Team Wins a Trip to Walt Disney World®

The team and their coach win an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Awards' National Championship Week, May 28-June 2, 2006, plus a $200 grant for each team to further develop their project.

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 winning team 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 tenth year and has attracted nearly 14,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation (www.columbusfdn.org) with support from the National Science Foundation and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. Past winners have included: teams from Stoughton, WI, one of which won a Gold Medal in 2005 for its idea to combine water jets and a voice alarm in a stuffed animal to wake children from a deep sleep in case of a fire; 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.

About the Sponsor

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency created by Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. The Foundation has established Frontiers of Discovery–Work in Progress and Discover the Future, programs that recognize “cutting edge” innovations, innovative ideas of America’s youth, and honor teachers. These programs include the Homeland Security Award, Christopher Columbus Awards, National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors and the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award.

For more information, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.

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