Project Lead the Way finds solutions to life problems
Daphne Idoine, left, Eve Lester and Lizzie Gartrell show a model of how a landslide can occur for their fourth-grade Launch project at Dover.
The Project Lead the Way participants are solving problems sometimes inspired by real people and creating ways to make life better for them. Hunter Csonka and Charlie Gray designed a fishing bobber with a friend and others who have fine motor skill challenges in mind. They called their project The Candy Bobber.
“The Candy Bobber that we created (helps) people that have a disability, older people, young kids that are just getting into it or people that in the winter have trouble grabbing onto it due to their gloves,” Csonka said. “It screws on and off with very little effort. Also, you don’t have to grab it very snugly. You just have to basically have your hand there to stop it from moving, which isn’t very much. And then once it screws on there, it doesn’t even have to be tight for it to stay put. It then stays right where you put it.”
The design of the bobber makes it easier to change its location on the line. The bobber also has weights in it to make sure it always sits upright in the water.
“This allows little kids to constantly be able to fish with minimum effort and still keep the fun in it,” Csonka said. “And this actually is a little personal to me, to make sure it works, because I have a little cousin that had gotten in a car wreck.”
The cousin lost some use of one side of his body, but he still likes to go fishing with his family.
“I wanted to have him to still be able to fish with his family and us,” Csonka said, adding the screw-together bobber is less frustrating than dealing with a traditional bobber.
Csonka and Gray made the bobber using a 3-D printer, which makes the item less expensive to produce and more economical for consumers. The bobber is durable too. On one test the students threw the bobber into a brick wall, and it survived without a scratch.
Three juniors from Tusky Valley — Cole Clements, Jake Kapper and Sally Ray — solved a problem most people have faced with their project, Parking Made Easy.
“The project really came to mind when you are driving around a garage and you can’t find a parking spot that’s open. You would want to know right at the beginning, pulling up to a parking garage, where is an open spot,” Ray said. “If there’s a car in a spot that sends a signal straight to the map at the front of the garage telling you that spot is taken, then when you pull up, you know exactly where spots are open and where to find them.”
The students made a model of a parking garage and worked on the project for about three months. They learned there is a parking garage in Orlando that triggers lights over empty spots, but with the system the students created, motorists can tell if the lot is full or not before they enter.
The students earned a third-place award in Digital Electronics for their efforts.
Another idea was created by Tusky Valley freshman Koelle Whitlach, who designed an ambulance that holds up to eight patients.
Elementary students from Tusky Valley and Dover participated in the Launch program, and the students received a free frosty coupon for presenting.
Lydia McFadden explained one Dover fourth-grade project.
“The project is The Changing Earth, which is about landslides happening and trying to stop it from hitting a house,” McFadden said.
All Launch displays were held one hour.
PLTW President and CEO David Dimmett of Indianapolis, Indiana was in attendance from 4-6 p.m.
The largest crowd ever to attend the PLTW event gathered in the cafeteria as awards for first, second and third were presented by Steve Stokey of Allied Machine, one of the many supporters of PLTW, in the following categories:
—Gateway to Technology for Sixth Grade: Marshal Ellis, Newcomerstown, Lego Mindstorm; Colton Brown, IV, Sumo Bot; and Allie Parker, Dover, Locker Organizer.
—Gateway to Technology for Seventh Grade: Natalie Armstrong, Emilee Grafe, Elana Hursey and Piper Symons, TV, The Amazing Brain; Georgia Meyers, Dover, Puzzle Cube; and Kyla Davis, Emily Flood and Emma Giesey, Dover, Dragster.
—Gateway to Technology for Eighth Grade: Paige Martin, IV, Rescue Robot and Dragster; Aiden Stonebrook and Xander Varnes, Newcomerstown, Claw Bot; and Ali Robson and Kali Wallace, Claymont, Jibbitz Secure.
—Computer Science Essentials: Aubrey Elliot and Haylie Menefee, both ninth grade, IV, CAT.ch; Ben Sprankle, grade 11, IV, Monty PyGame and the Holy Grail; and Nathan Gordon and Grady Sheperd, both ninth grade, IV, Cabin.
—Computer Science Principles: Tyler Haun, grade 11, IV, Space Invaders; Kaylen Donohoe, grade 10, IV, Reaction Game; and Connor Pearch, grade 10, IV, Tic-Tac-Toe.
—Computer Integrated Manufacturing: Kimberly Christ, Austin Norris, Logan Postlethwait, Kathryn Secoy and Beau Wolf, TV, Too Small, Too Fast; Nick Barker, Bryant Korns, Carter Vandall, Brennen Wanosick and Sione Williams, New Philadelphia, VEX Charging Station; and Braden Dotts, Dover, Chess Set. All winners are in grade 12.
—Digital Electronics: Bladen Garland and Ryan Stallings, both grade 12, BCC, Hillbilly – Tesla; Brady Miller and Aidan Springer, both grade 11, Dover, Metronome; and Cole Clements, Jake Kapper and Sally Ray, all grade 11, TV, Parking Made Easy.
—Principles of Biomedical Science: Bailee Grafe and Tori Wilson, both ninth grade, TV, Mobile Medical Facility; Kylee Fender and Sydney Miller, both ninth grade, TV, Mobile Medical Facility; and Emma Howard, Katelyn Markle and Choe Ritter, all grade 10, TV, Mobile Medical Facility.
—Human Body Systems: Courtney Boyd and Tyra Hampton, both grade 12, TV, Surviving the Extremes; Teagan Phillips and Danell Spivey, both grade 10, Surviving the Extremes; and Lauren Futon and Brynn Goedel, both grade 12, TV, Surviving the Extremes.
—Medical Interventions: Chloe Salapack and Maci Souers, both grade 11, TV, Nanotechnology “Tiny Treatments;” Riley Sites, grade 11, TV, Nanotechnology “Tiny Treatments;” and Reed Maloon and Ella McElwee, all grade 11, TV, Nanotechnology “Tiny Treatments.”
—Principles of Engineering: Zane Anderson and Brandon Ousley, both grade 11, and Chase Walton, grade 10, TV, Bob the Unbuilder; Tristan Carroll, grade 11, Emily Hathaway, grade 10, and Lucas Plauger, grade 9, TV, Propane Panthers; and Alina Cotlet and Kaydence Oboczky, both grade 10, and Carson Robertson, grade 11, Dover, Robotics Competition.
—Introduction to Engineering Design: Trinity Dreher, grade 10, Dover, Modular Organizer; Aaron Lane, grade 11, and Jonathon McConnell, grade 12, BCC, Golden Flashes; and Chase Daniel and Cole Griesen, both ninth grade, and Carson Roberson, grade 11, Dover, Collapsible Shipping Container.