AUBURN, NY,—April 29, 2005—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won four students from Saddle Brook Middle School in Saddle Brook, NJ, a berth as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. Eighth-graders Urszula Kapinos, Heather Kuehnle, Ashley LaRose, and Kasia Truszkowska, and their coach and teacher, Marilyn Hamot Ryan, had made it to the semifinals earlier this month and now are one of eight teams in the country to compete for the grand prize—a $25,000 grant.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 1.6 million seniors are treated in emergency rooms every year due to falls in their homes. Many of these occur in the middle of the night as they wake out of a deep sleep fumbling for glasses, light switches and secure footing.

Concerned about the night-time plight of seniors, these students met with officials from area hospitals, senior assistance centers and conducted interviews with 50 older people to devise a solution. They developed a secure floor mat that automatically turns a light on for a set period of time when a person steps on it as they get out of their bed.

A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education judged this idea as one of the top eight entries in the U.S. Over 1,100 students participated nationwide.

Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winning team will receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders.

Positive Community Change

The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. The program is now in its ninth year and has attracted nearly 13,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation (www.columbusfdn.org) with support from the National Science Foundation and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. Past winners have included a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a group of students from Pennsylvania who developed a video/motion sensor device for school buses that deters motorists from trying to pass illegally.

Strong Participation from Girls, Minorities

The program attracts many students who may not typically enter a science competition. More than half of the entrants are girls, and more than a fourth are from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, statistics that are higher than those of most science competitions. The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation believes the teamwork aspect and community focus draw a broader range of students to enter.

###