Middle School Gifted Education Facilitators Debbie Pellington (left) and Lisa Huelskamp (right), with Executive Director, Secondary Academic Affairs Scott Reeves, are pictured with the winning entries.
Sixth graders from advanced science classes in the Westerville City School District took part in the eighth annual Chip Challenge, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) initiative. Teams of sixth grade advanced science students were asked to design and test a container for shipping a single Pringles potato chip to the Early Learning Center. Upon arrival, the packages and the chip they contained were evaluated and scored. The goal was to design a package having the smallest volume and smallest mass, which protected the chip so it would arrive at its destination undamaged.
Genoa Middle School team members Wyatt Rickelmann, Iniyal Ramamoorthy, and Logan Henslee won first place. A team from Heritage – Thuraya Hamed, Crystal Reynolds, and Alexa Manly – came in second. Closely behind in third place was Lauren Armstrong, Isabella Huth, and Kieran Dunn from Walnut Springs Middle School. Fourth place winners were Blendon’s Adelaide Aultman, Teagan Fullen, and Kathryn Mowrey. The design challenge is supported by the Westerville City Schools Science and Gifted Education Departments.