ASHLAND Another class of STEM students from Ashland Middle School advanced nationally in a technology competition, winning thousands of dollars for high-tech equipment for their school.
The students, who designed and built a device to help students with reduced mobility escape from a multi-story building in an emergency, were named national finalists in the annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.
This is the second time that AMS students have arrived at the national level.
The feat wins $ 50,000 worth of technology equipment for the school, and a contingent of students will travel to New York to present their project to a jury. The judges will choose five national winners, who will each win $ 100,000 in additional technology.
Students developed the device, which resembles a lightly padded seat with a three-wheeled assembly on each side that is capable of negotiating stairs, over a period of months during which they tested several models, according to the member from the Samuel Tibbitts team, an eighth grader.
The 18-member student team narrowed the field from five to three, and then recruited a panel of experts to help them focus on a final choice. The panel included a physiotherapist, a parent of a disabled child, and a member of the Marathon Petroleum rescue team, said Samuel. That reduced them to two, and Marathon helped them choose the final design, he said.
The device will slide under a wheelchair or a student on crutches can sit there to go down the stairs.
They chose the project because their own multi-story school and the team members wondered how some of their less mobile classmates would get out in an emergency.
“When we started, we imagined we were in an emergency and couldn’t get out,” said Samuel. “Then we talked to some people and found it to be a real problem.”
They also developed an application to track the identity and location of students with reduced mobility, said Samuel.
“We are fortunate to have a good community and excellent administration,” said educational consultant John Leistner. “The first thing our administration asks is how can we help you,” he said. STEM teachers Mark Harmon and David Sparks are also instrumental in guiding the student team, he said.
Community voting can give the team even more technology for the school. Supporters can vote online at Samsung.com/solve. The page includes links to projects from AMS and other schools in the running. Fans can click on the Ashland link, watch the team video and vote. Voting requires logging into Facebook. Supporters can vote once a day.
Public voting ends at 11:59 p.m. March 30. Community Choice winners receive an additional $ 10,000 in technology.
AMS students won the national competition in 2018 for a device that emergency workers can use to safely pick up discarded hypodermic syringes, and were state winners in 2019 for a project to help veterans to seek information on benefits and services.
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