Middle School Scientist Asks: What's in My Water?

Middle School Student Innovates with a Water Testing Device

What's in my water?

You've likely heard of Flint, Michigan, and their lead water crisis. It's not just a problem for residents of Flint. Bright young mind Gitanjali Rao from Lone Tree, Colorado, decided to tackle the water crisis problem with science. Developing her ideas with the help of teachers at her STEM school, she eventually entered into the Young Scientist Challenge. Her hard work and perseverance paid off.

America's Top Young Scientist

Discovery Education and 3M have awarded Miss 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. 

Tethys, aptly named for the Titan goddess of fresh water, includes disposable water testing cartridges that have chemically treated carbon nanotube arrays, an Arduino processor to process test results, and Bluetooth integration for quick display of results on your smartphone. A 3D-printed box contains all the electronics within. See more about Gitanjali's invention here. 

Ten finalists competed for this title while participating in a summer program with a research scientist. Gitanjali Rao, the winner, worked with Dr. Kathleen Shafer from 3M. Read about all of the finalists and their mentors by going to the Young Scientist Finalists page.

What a great opportunity for budding innovators and scientists to tackle real world problems in a meaningful way with corporate support. Kids come up with amazing ideas. Having a partner help bring their ideas to fruition is an inspiring and eye-opening process for any young scientist.

Do you have a #YoungScientist?

Encourage your students or kids to enter next year's challenge until 4/19/2018. Not only is it a great learning opportunity and a way to explore STEM fields, you may be helping to make a real and lasting impact in the scientific community.

Resources for Teachers and Parents

Change the world one problem at a time. This is #girlpower at its finest! If you are a middle school science teacher or parent, are you aware of this program? Find out more at Young Scientist Lab, where there are activities for students and resources for parents and teachers as well. 

You don't want to miss the other finalists' ideas either! Here are a couple I just loved (click image to read more):

Photo from www.youngscientistlab.com

Photo from www.youngscientistlab.com

Find Discovery Education on Social Media

Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge materials are also available through Discovery Education Streaming Plus.  

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