Last week, we visited the Trumbauersville Elementary School students who participated in the Bucks County IU STEM Challenge.
What is the Bucks County IU STEM Challenge?
It is an annual engineering competition for students in grades 4-8 in Pennsylvania to create sustainable, innovative solutions to real-world problems.
This year, elementary and middle school students were challenged to design "a section of a factory that produces a product using sustainable practices. The prototype must be constructed of K'Nex and/or Engino, showcase how their functioning machine works, and how it must support environmentally responsible production. The machine prototype should clearly demonstrate sustainability principals by minimizing waste , maximizing efficiency, and/or simulating the use of recycled, reuseable, or otherwise sustainable parts, materials, or resources."
Trumbauersville Elementary students worked hard for the last two months on their inventions and were very excited to share how hard they worked!
The Green Girls
Team: Kelly, Marielle, and Anna
Purpose: Repurpose Metal Scraps with Solar Energy
The Green Girls explained how their machine functions: "The metal pieces or scrap go into this tube, and then it reaches the first drain. The material is then directed to the oven, where it will melt." The team also incorporated a designated cleaning station to remove impurities from the metal prior to melting. Once the metal becomes liquid, it is channeled into a pipe mold. And to further support their environmental sustainability, the team designed the system with a solar panel roof, allowing the process to operate using renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels.
The Bio Guard
Team: Kaitlin, Thea, and Faith
Purpose: Harmful Waste Removal
The Bio Guard addresses a critical environmental concern: how can we contain harmful toxins from contaminating our soil and groundwater? Kaitlin, Thea, and Faith created "The Bio Guard" to contain harmful toxins to make landfills eco-friendly. When asked what inspired them, the team answered, "We were thinking about how landfills get ruined by harmful liquids and gases, so we wanted to take those things away so they can't leak into the soil."
The Three Spokes
Team: Jaylyn, Hazel, and Mackenzie
Purpose: A More Accessible Wheelchair
"The Three Spokes" designed a "state-of-the-art" wheelchair "to help people do everyday tasks in their life without having to worry about what they can and can't do." The chair was thoughtfully designed with extra soft cushions to enhance comfort, built-in compartments to store materials, and a water cooler for easy access to refreshing drinks.
The Scrapsavers
Team: Margot, Mireille, and Brooklyn
Purpose: Food Scraps to Animal Feed
Margot, Mireille, and Brooklyn's invention focused on reducing food waste while supporting animals. The team shared, "We really care about animals and wanted to create something to help them." Their machine transports leftover food via a conveyor belt to a processing area, where it is "mixed and mashed and turned into a biscuit."
The team was proud to have created a practical machine that repurposes excess food to help animals in need.
The Earthquake Finders
Team: Finley, Nora, Olivia, and Nevaeh
Purpose: Predicts Earthquakes
The team explained, " Our invention predicts earthquakes an hour before they actually happen." Motivated by what they recently learned in science class about earthquakes, Finley, Nora, Olivia, and Nevaeh wanted to create a machine that could help people evacuate safely, and what better way than an early detection system?
The Garbage Compactors
Team: Henry, Aythan, Nathan, and Caden
Purpose: Trash to Treasure
Built to compact with purpose, Henry, Aythan, Nathan, and Caden developed a machine that can transform waste into construction materials. Built to lift, sort, and compact into bricks, the team emphasized the materials would be suitable for building homes and other structures, like a school. Their invention not only removes waste but also creates opportunity.
ARF
Team: Chad, Jackson, and Landon
Purpose: Repurpose Filament
Chad, Jackson, and Landon created a machine that repurposes filament scraps. The team explained, "The filament scraps are recycled by melting them down until they flow through an ALO tube. Once it's there, the filament can be spooled and drawn into large strips, producing new usable filament."
The Miracles
Team: Ceilidh, Madison Miliyana, and Sophia
Purpose: Ocean Cleanup Bot
Ceilidh, Madison, Miliyana, and Sophia create a swimming trash-collecting robot. Built for the ocean or smaller bodies of water, the robot collects trash and then repurposes the materials into bricks. The bricks can be used for homes, schools, and other structures—cleaning our oceans and creating usable resources.
The Trash Netters
Team: Jon and Owen
Purpose: Trash to Treasure
"We created a machine designed to collect trash from the ocean and other bodies of water." But unlike previous teams, their invention uses a net to collect the trash, and once collected, the trash is sorted and recycled appropriately. Keeping our oceans clean while also recycling!
Thank you to all our amazing Trumbauersville students for sharing their environmentally friendly machines with us. We are thrilled to report that "The Green Girls," with Kelly, Marielle, and Anna will be advancing to the STEM Design Finals at the FAB LAB in Warminster on Friday, April 10th!
Good luck and congratulations to all our Trumbauersville Inventors!