Charter 6th Graders Take 3rd Place

For the past 19 years students from around the Bay Area have competed in the annual Tech Challenge. Students in two age divisions are given a problem that requires some engineering to solve. Kevin Harris, Kevin Hill, Christopher May & Austin Mier competed along with 120 other teams in the 6th-8th grade division.  The boys, with the adult guidance of Adam May and Bruce Hill, took on the 2006 challenge to create an efficient ways to fill sand bags. Titled "Fight the Flood" the teams had three minutes to fill 10 sand bags each required to way between 5.5 and 6.5 pounds. After months of prototyping, arguing, designing, testing, cataloging, and articulating the boys competed at San Jose's Tech Museum on April 29, 2006. The boys filled all 10 bags with 5 seconds to spare and the judges deemed that 7 were completed in the appropriate weight range. The judges had lengthy discussions before and after the time trial quizzing the boys on their methodology and examining their documentation.

Only 18 teams would receive an award from the panel of judges (engineers from local technology firms).  The 6th grade team from the San Carlos' Charter Learning Center, who took the name "Geeks on the Go," took 3rd place overall. It was a huge victory for this young team but made the many hours of work all seem worthwhile. They each received cash and prizes totaling $115.

Click on the photos below to enlarge.

© Greg Harris, 2006