InvenTeams
zones” developed by the Saint Thomas Academy
InvenTeam (Mendota Heights, Minn).
Credit: Lemelson-MIT Program
Challenging high school students to create technological solutions to real-world problems
The Lemelson-MIT Program’s InvenTeams initiative ignites passion for science, technology, engineering, and math in high school students across the country, fostering a culture of inquiry and collaboration in a new generation of inventors. Each year, teams of students from public and private high schools in urban, suburban, and rural communities apply for up to $10,000 in grants to invent their own solutions to real-world problems.
demonstrate a head-mounted remote control
device for people with physical disabilities.
Credit: Lemelson-MIT Program
Student teams work with their high school teachers and consult with established professionals in industry, academia, and government. In many cases, local companies provide mentors, materials and additional funding to support InvenTeam projects. Teams showcase their inventions during EurekaFest, the Lemelson-MIT Program's annual multi-day celebration of science and innovation.
Featured InvenTeam: Spokane High School Students Spawn Innovation
member demonstrates their “fish escalator."
Credit: Lemelson-MIT Program
Hydroelectric power brings clean energy, agricultural irrigation, and flood control to much of the Pacific Northwest. But it also causes substantial damage to migrating salmon. With an InvenTeam grant from Lemelson-MIT, students at West Valley High School in Spokane, WA have prototyped a solution to this challenge.The students chose to tackle a real-world problem that's all too familiar in their region. Although traditional fish ladders allow some passage of spawning salmon, they're not highly effective because levels of oxygen and nitrogen can build to a critical density within the ladder. Exposed fish become temporarily stunned, which makes them vulnerable to predators.
The West Valley InvenTeam’s approach is to create a sophisticated "fish elevator" using Archimedes' screws that will save fish, water, and money.
Read more: Other solutions created by Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams