Students from Olathe North High School and Leawood Elementary in Kansas have been named the grand prize winners in the “Battle of the Brains”K-12 STEM competition. Along with taking home $50,000 for their schools, students from each team will work with Burns & McDonnell engineers, architects and construction professionals to bring their winning proposals to life, as full-scale science exhibits atKansas City’s Science Center, Science City.
The proposed science exhibit by students at Olathe North High School, titled “Tapped Out,” will emphasize the rapid decreases in water resources and the steps that must be taken to help ensure clean water does not become a scarce commodity in the future. Leawood Elementary’s “GeneTech” exhibit will explore the wonder and science behind heredity, genetic conditions and technology, and the history of DNA. Over the next 18 months students will work with Burns & McDonnell professionals to design and build the exhibits.
The 2013 “Battle of the Brains” saw 3,500 students from 193 schools in the Kansas City metro area compete for grant money and the opportunity to build a science exhibit at Science City. In addition to the two $50,000 grand prize winners, four runners-up received $5,000 each and 14 schools earned $2,500 each.
