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If students at Powell High School had their way, Yellowstone National Park would see a massive decrease in carbon emissions and road damage thanks to a gondola lift powered by magnets.
The plan …
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If students at Powell High School had their way, Yellowstone National Park would see a massive decrease in carbon emissions and road damage thanks to a gondola lift powered by magnets.
The plan was masterminded by Wendy Smith’s natural resources classes for the 14th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM Competition.
After collaboration between classes Shandi Salas, Brooke Bessler, Virginia Lohr, Dazi Simpson, Shelby Carter and Breckin Streeter have been working together in an effort to win the $100,000 grand prize package.
Their proposal would use magnetic propulsion from a local company that previously visited the Natural Resources Class.
“So we kind of used that idea and we would put them in the back of each of the little cars so there wouldn’t be any carbon emissions or CO2 or anything,” Bessler said.
Exceptions would be made for locals who need to travel through the park for work and other activities, Bessler said, but the tourists would use the gondola system to explore the park.
Solve for Tomorrow, which encourages students to use STEM in order to create solutions to their local issues, is open to students in sixth through 12th grade.
Right now the group of students is one of 300 state finalists picked from schools across the country — out of these only 50 state winners will move on to the national level. State finalists receive a $2,500 prize package that includes tech and classroom supplies according to the release. Each year more than $2,000,000 in prizes are awarded.
“The competition engages U.S. Gen Z students to catalyze change by applying Problem-based Learning (PBL) principles, environmental stewardship and entrepreneurship to address some of society’s most pressing challenges,” a press release from the competition said. “It also promotes active, hands-on learning, making STEM more tangible and showcasing its real-world applications.”
This is the third consecutive year that Powell High School students have been state finalists in the competition. Students had previously qualified in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
State winners are scheduled to be announced in late January. The winners will be announced at samsungsolvefortomorrow on Facebook and Instagram.
