Denham Springs High students head to Washington, D.C. for STEM competition
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Students in the Denham Springs High School's STEM Sharks team are headed to Washington, D.C., to participate in a software design competition.
According to a release, the STEM Sharks Enterprise Design Engineering Team was named a finalist in the annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. The competition recognizes high school initiatives that offer solutions to critical issues in the community.
The students designed an application to educate and help residents understand the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project proposed for Lake Maurepas. The app will allow residents to get information about CCS, current conditions on the lake and information on how to contact authorities if a leak is suspected.
'This competition challenges students to catalyze change by applying Problem Based Learning (PBL) principles, STEM disciplines, social impact entrepreneurship and environmental stewardship to addressing some of our society's most pressing challenges,' said DSHS Biology Teacher and Shark Team Sponsor Mark Zweig.
The students met with professors and experts from local universities as well as scientists and analysts from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the Client Innovation Center of Baton Rouge, to assist with the project.
According to a release, the competition is set for Sunday, April 27, through Tuesday, April 29. The winner of the competition will earn a $100,000 prize package and the other teams are guaranteed a $50,000 prize package.
Teams can compete in the Community Choice, which is voted on by the general public. Organizers have posted a video of each team and asks the public to vote on their favorite team. Voting is open until April 20. The winning team will get an additional $10,000 to their finalist winnings.
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