Middle School Student Innovates with a Water Quality Testing Device
America’s Top Young Scientist
Discovery Education and 3M have awarded Gitanjali Rao the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” with prize earnings of $25,000. Her device, which she named “Tethys,” clinched the top price in this year’s competition, which was the 10th anniversary of the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
What is Tethys?
Contaminants in water pose a serious health risk for people all over the world. Lead poisoning can cause both short- and long-term health issues. Miss Rao’s invention is a portable, easy to use, and inexpensive water quality tester. It uses disposable water testing cartridges with chemically treated carbon nanotube arrays, an Arduino processor to process test results, and integrates with a smartphone via Bluetooth for quick display of results. Tethys boasts an innovative combination of several STEM components. You can see more about Gitanjali’s invention here.
Perfect for STEMtastic Tweens and Teens
Enter next year’s challenge until 4/19/2018. What is the Young Scientist Challenge? It’s the nation’s premier middle School science competition for grades 5 through 8. Students create a 1-2 minute video entry submission about a new innovation or solution. Find all the rules of the competition and start brainstorming ideas today.
Science Resources for Teachers and Parents
If you are a teacher or parent of a K-8 student, there are numerous resources waiting for you at Young Scientist Lab. Resources are sorted by K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. You can explore classic science topics as well as ones applicable for today’s world, such as oil spill cleanup and recycling.
Ten finalists competed for this title while participating in a summer mentorship program with a research scientist from 3M in this contest. You don’t want to miss the other finalists’ ideas either. Here are a few more entries that caught our eye:
Find Discovery Education on Social Media
Don’t forget to search hashtag #YoungScientist on your favorite social media platform.
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