STUDENTS at a Sippy Downs primary school are changing the world, one millilitre at a time.
The Siena Catholic Primary School team won the 2022 STEM MAD showcase for their waterborne disease detector Crypto Scanner, which can easily and cheaply detect water contamination.
Teacher Jacqui Kelly and technician Taylor Rapmund said their students Lucas Tellan, Rayne Mills and Ethan Walsh were “on a high” from winning.
“We hope it (Crypto Scanner) will make an impact on the real world by allowing all kinds of people to have access to an affordable, portable, and reusable device that can be used to prevent illness and death around the globe, caused from the waterborne parasite know as Cryptosporidium,” they said.
The STEM MAD Showcase was designed to promote STEM learning initiatives that address real-world problems.
On Wednesday, 80 teams across 35 Brisbane Catholic Education schools competed for the title.
Riverview’s St Peter Claver College won the secondary school category with their invention HELPS – a Hydro-Electric Lifeline Power Source.
St Peter’s Science Curriculum leader Grant Grierson said the design was inspired by the recent flooding events
“Having witnessed firsthand the effects of flooding and the helplessness of being unable to either receive or send signals out to both the authorities and loved ones, my students came up with the concept of developing a device that could help,” he said.
Mr Grierson said team members Keira James, Chloe Rawlins and Sammy Warburton were “thrilled” to win and “couldn’t believe all their hard work had paid off”.
“Chloe, Keira and Sammy sacrificed almost all of their recesses for the past two months as well as time after school and on weekends,” he said.
“They tore apart old broken electronics and repurposed their parts, learnt new skills such as soldering, almost short circuited the Science lab using hot glue guns and might have annoyed a lab technician or two.”
Brisbane Catholic Education deputy executive director Dr Doug Ashleigh said it’s “inspiring to see young minds coming up with such innovative solutions” for Australia’s largest issues.
“Your innovations have the potential to make a real world impact, and I know that if the future is in the hands of BCE students, then our future is looking very bright,” he said.
Albany Creek’s All Saints Parish Primary received the Executive Director’s award for their invention Flood Pole, a flashing light that activates once floodwaters on roads become unsafe.
The college’s second team was awarded the Future is STEM award for Airborne Ambulance, a drone that delivers emergency medicine.
The winners of the STEM MAD Showcase 2022 will compete at the STEM MAD National competition in Melbourne in September.
