SVEF

Steve Wozniak (inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Apple) hosts an annual Science Fair as a part of Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC); this year, Wozniak attended Synopsys Science Fair and invited certain projects to participate, including some SLI students’ projects. Wozniak met with each student team and discussed their projects, giving them a unique opportunity to speak with an incredibly successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

The SVCC website gives a small description of the event, saying “In cooperation with the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s S.T.E.A.M. Team, SVCC seeks to inspire the imaginations of all attendees, including encouraging S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) students. Bay Area kids are doing great work, and we’re happy to shine a light on their ingenuity. In honor of Earth Day, Saturday’s Science Fair will be themed SAVE THE PLANET and highlight earth science projects. Superheroes encouraged to visit and support! Sunday’s Science Fair will be themed FUTURE TECH and highlight robotics and space projects. All participants are invited to come in costume!” (See more at the Silicon Valley Comic Con website)

Congrats to all the SLI students invited to participate!

This last weekend a team of SLI students attended the California State Science Fair. After receiving the 2nd place award in Physical Science and Engineering at Synopsys Science Fair, they were invited to attend this selective fair in Southern California.

The team enjoyed presenting it’s project at this statewide competition. They were able to meet students from many backgrounds and to be inspired by their projects. One of the parent chaperons thought the fair was a great experience for them, saying “They had 8 main award judges to their display and all of them loved their idea and gave positive feedback….it was an awesome experience to see many projects displays… Without STEM, [the students] wouldn’t have been exposed to [so] many competitions.”

Congratulations to the students for participating and thank you to the parents for chaperoning!

Adam Savage, former co-host of the hit show MythBusters, visited FabLab Santa Clara High School on Wednesday, April 19, to work with SLI 9th graders. Savage’s visit was a part of “a national tour of 6 Maker Cities in the USA”, sponsored by Chevron and Fab Foundation.

According to the Fab Foundation, “the tour is designed to visit and document innovation in education, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. Sponsorship is provided by Chevron, as part of the energy company’s continuing commitment to STEM education. Started in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy “Maker Initiative,” Mr. Savage aims to engage and excite the communities he visits and then document the tour on video for the entire country to share in the experience via multiple media channels, including Tested.com.” (Visit the Fab Foundation website for the full article)

Students were given the challenge to design and prototype different football tees for kicking, incorporating the lab’s ShopBot, laser cutter, and 3D printer. Also in attendance were Brandi Chastain (two-time World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist) and Jesse Sapolu (49ers legend with four Super Bowl championship rings). Chastain and Sapolu provided advice and expertise regarding the physics of kicking and football.

It was an exciting morning of learning and design thinking; we are excited to help promote STEM education throughout the country through this video series. Check back in a month to see the video!

SLI’s 7th grade class visited Google campus on Wednesday, where they got an exclusive peek into the life, culture, and undertakings of Google and Alphabet (Google’s holding company). Students began the visit with an indulgent lunch at the Google dining hall and then a tour around main Mountain View campus. After walking off lunch, students attended five talks from current Google employees. The speakers covered many topics, including project Loon, autonomous cars, marketing and advertising, and “three things I wish I’d known as a 7th grader.”

It was an exciting look into the workings and mindset of a top-tier technology company and its employees. Not only did they gain valuable insight into how a company like Google functions, but also into the various paths that lead each speaker to their current job at Google. Students left the Mountain View campus feeling inspired and motivated, with new perspective on their own projects with SLI.

A huge thank you to our parent volunteers who organized an amazing event.

After the awards ceremony on Sunday, we are thrilled to announce the specific awards and honors that SLI students received. Three SLI projects (one from each grade level) placed 1st in the Physical Science & Engineering Category and the two middle school projects received nominations to compete in Broadcom MASTERS (an elite middle school science competition). Two more SLI projects placed 2nd in the same Physical Science & Engineering Category. And six projects received honorable mention. The Association for Computing Machinery gave a 2nd place student award and an honorable mention student award to two SLI projects. An 8th grade project received a certificate of achievement from the Society of Women Engineers. And one 9th grade project, in addition to winning an honorable mention, received the Bruce Kawanami Engineering Award and a BBC Microbit Development Kit from TechLab Education. Overall, 18 awards and honors were given to 14 SLI projects. Amazing work, award winners!

Synopsys is a prestigious local science fair that requires rigorous project-based research from its participants. Its submission guidelines demand a clearly defined question or problem; accurate testing and analysis; quantifiable, measurable results; and a clear definition of criteria for success or outcome. This year, 41 SLI sciences projects were accepted to the fair; and a total of 69 students worked on these projects and presented them in March to approximately 500 category and special award judges, including over 60 industry professionals.

This year 14 SLI projects (22 students) were selected to receive awards. These projects include a heat-sensing rescue robot, an active cuff for the treatment of edema in the lower extremities, and several projects that aim to help the blind with navigating, sensing what is ahead of them, or cleaning up after their service dogs.

It has been another year of fantastic projects and presentations. Congratulations to all! And best of luck to the projects that are continuing on to Broadcom MASTERS!