Davis Magnet School Shines At OC Maker Challenge Jr.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA —The fifth grade class at Davis Magnet School rose to the OC Makers, Junior challenge, recently, showing that STEM kids can bridge the gap between art and science.

Spearheaded by their teacher Katie Danahy, students formed groups and worked together to identify problems and explore solutions. Then, they presented a prototype for judging in the county-wide contest. Two groups from Davis Magnet went, and were judged for both originality and functionality.

Students Althea Harper and Edith Lutz, with Michael Lyons and Felix Tiquia, looked to their backyard to find their problem: Trash in the Ocean.

What better to solve that issue than developing what they named the "Fish Bot."
"A fish bot would solve the problem by picking up the trash in the ocean," they said. The team used a 3-d printer to design their fish robot, which resembles a pool toy so that cleaning up the ocean could also be fun!

The second group called themselves Project Prosthetic. The team of Andres Ayala, Samuel Edmisten, and Gavin Mac Beth worked together to identify a solution for someone who had no use of their hands.

They designed a 'powered hand' that could be used for everyday tasks, that would be motor powered in a way that would resemble normal hand function, such as picking up items.

The boys won first place in the fifth-grade level dynamic prototype category and were showcased at the OC Maker Challenge on May 11.

The OCMaker Challenge is an integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) design project that combines elements of art and design.

Principal Christy Flores praised all who entered, saying, "This is a great program that promotes a culture of inquiry, creativity, and problem-solving using real-world experience."