Student Toys With Ideas for National Competition
Team Challenger is one of six from North Carolina and 50 total to compete for the East Coast National Championship, which will be held this weekend in Research Triangle Park.
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, created the competition to interest more young girls in science and math careers. Each team must be at least half female, and members must design a toy from scratch.
The Davis Drive Middle students created ""I Need My Space,"" a board game that features a life-size game board and lights to keep score. Players have to answer space-age trivia questions, and the first player to pass all of the planets and escape the black holes wins.
"We had to figure out all the resistor values and figure out where all the wires go in,"" student Claire Kilmer said, explaining that team members had to learn the finer points of electrical circuits to complete their project.
Michelle Staben, a chemical engineer who mentors students through Wake County's Women in Math Program, coaches the team.
"I'm hoping this passion and energy they have now is something they'll hang onto and stay in science and math careers," Staben said.
That belief is why Ride initiated the toy challenge, event coordinator Roger Harris said.
"Sally, because of her career and her interests, really wants to encourage young women in particular to take on interests in science and engineering because that's where she believes the future of our country lies," Harris said.
Team Challenger's prototype already has beaten 250 other teams across the country. But win or lose, some team members already are following their dreams. Kilmer, for example, said she is interested in a career in aerospace engineering.