The 2011-2012 Finalist Teams Have Been Announed

Click here to view the finalist winners.

The 2011-2012 Semifinalist Teams Have Been Announed

Click here to view the semi-finalist winners.

Former Participant Named Finalist for the Barron Prize for Young Heroes

John Perino, Barron Prize for Young Heroes Finalist.

2010 finalist, John Perino, member of the TGIF team from Westerly, RI was recently named a finalist for the 2011 Barron Prize for Young Heroes. The Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. John and his teammates have started a program that collects used cooking oil from local restaurants and converts it into biofuel which is then distributed to needy families in their community to help heat their homes.

For his efforts with this project, John was nominated for the 2011 Barron Prize for Young Heroes. As a result of this nomination, John and the team's efforts were highlighted in the February 2012 issue of Reader's Digest.

Click here to read the Readers Digest article about John and the TGIF project.

To learn more about the Barron Prize for Young Heroes, visit www.barronprize.org/

Christopher Columbus Awards Invited to White House Science Fair

The River Rangers, from Myrtle Beach, SC at their display in the East Wing of the White House. Left to right: Bethany Slayton, Christian Hanna and MaKayla Arteaga.

On Tuesday, February 7, 2012, The River Rangers, 2011 Columbus Foundation Community winners from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, along with Anthony Edvalson, member of the 2011 gold medal-winning team from Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, and Cassandra Lin and John Perino, 2010 finalist team members from Westerly, Rhode Island, participated in the 2012 White House Science Fair.

Anthony Edvalson, second from left, of the PickUp Patrol team from Mont Vernon, NH, waits to shake hands with President Barrack Obama.

Highlighting over 40 different STEM competitions, the White House invited 100 students from 45 states to the Science Fair. These winners were asked to attend the event and participate in the President's speech, while a select few were also asked to exhibit their projects. The River Rangers were invited to both attend and exhibit; Tony, Cassandra and John were invited to attend as student guests.

John Perino and Cassandra Lin (over the President's right shoulder) of the Turn Grease Into Fuel team from Westerly, RI listen as President Barrack Obama congratulates all White House Science attendees for their hard work and dedication to STEM education.

Exhibits were arranged in various rooms in the East Wing of the White House, and invited guests were on hand to view the displays and discuss the projects with the team members. These guests included CEOs, TV personalities, Congressional representatives and key administration officials.

The Christopher Columbus Awards members had the pleasure of meeting several people including Dr. Subra Suresh, Director of the National Science Foundation, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist, Director of Hayden Planetarium, just to name a few.

Click here to view a list of all the honorees.

Click here to view the President's speech.

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Perseverance Pays Off

Our 2007 finalist team, L.O.S.T.: Lights on Sign Technology, from Federal Way, WA , continuously followed- through on their project, and their efforts have paid off in a big way.

The team redesigned the county's current lahar evacuation signs to include red LED lights that will flash during a mud or ash flow from Mount Rainer, helping to illuminate the evacuation route.

After participating in the 2007 competition, the team refined their project and presented it to Pierce County's Emergency Management. At the time, the Emergency Management team supported adding lights to the lahar evacuation signs but didn't have necessary the funds to do so.

The team continued to promote their project, and the county finally had funds to install the first three signs earlier this month, with potentially more signs to be added soon in the Puyallup River Valley.

It's wonderful to see the team's hard work and dedication pay off in such a tremendous way.

Congratulations to the L.O.S.T. team on this fantastic accomplishment!

Former Finalist Named to PARADE Magazine 2011 All-American Service Team

Benjamin Clay McMullen, member of the 2007 Wetlands Education team, from West Geauga, Ohio, has been named to PARADE Magazine's 2011 All-American Service Team.

Clay and his group, Wetlands Education, entered the Christopher Columbus Awards competition, where they addressed the destruction of the local wetlands leading to the disappearance of the osprey. The team's solution was to educate the public about the importance of the existing wetlands, the dangers of their destruction to the osprey population and to enlist the community's help to preserve them.

Named as one of eight finalist teams, the Wetlands Education team's project garnered a gold medal for the 2006-2007 competition year.

Click here to read more about Clay and PARADE Magazine's 2011 All-American Service Team and how they are continuing this important work.

Congratulations to Clay for receiving
this well-deserved honor!

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Winning Teams Announced

The 2010-2011 winning teams, listed below, were announced on June 23, 2011. For more details about the teams and their entries, click here.

• The River Rangers from Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, SC
• Pick Up Patrol from Mont Vernon Village School in Mont Vernon, NH
• The Solar Solution to Fossil Fuels from Mirman School in Los Angeles, CA

Congratulations to the winning teams!

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Finalist Teams Announced

The 2010-2011 finalist teams, listed below, were announced on April 29, 2011. For more details about the teams and their entries, click here.

• The Solar Solution to Fossil Fuels from Mirman School in Los Angeles, CA
• Intimidators from Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, FL
• Pau Parvo from Waianae Elementary School in Waianae, HI
• Pick Up Patrol from Mont Vernon Village School in Mont Vernon, NH
• Pet Safe from Island Trees Middle School in Levittown, NY
• The Helping Hands from Island Trees Memorial Middle School in Levittown, NY
• MOLE: Mechanically Operated Litter Eliminator! from Gahanna Middle School East in Gahanna, OH
• The River Rangers from Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, SC

Congratulations to all the finalist teams!

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Recycle Because You Care Continues to Take Science into the Community and Beyond

The 2009 Gold Medal Award Winning Team, Recycle Because You Care, aimed high and hit the mark! The team developed outreach efforts to inform their hometown of Addison, Illinois, of the importance of recycling, with a goal of providing recycling bins to every household. With the findings from their project, a local waste hauler applied for a state grant to purchase recycling bins for their community. Other efforts of the team included creating a public service announcement, teaching a recycling class at the local library and submitting articles to the local newspaper about the community's recycling program and its rules. Just one year later, those recycling bins and bags are filled to the brim. The volume of collected recyclables has gone through the roof, with 768 additional tons recycled this year compared to the previous year — an increase of 63%! The team has recently been asked to share their success and present to the Environmental Committee of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus — an organization consisting of mayors from 273 municipalities in the Chicagoland area. Additionally, the team's efforts were highlighted on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's website, where their ideas were shared with regional planners. Recycle Because You Care continues to take science into the community and beyond, by teaching other communities how they can improve their own recycling rates!

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Former Finalist Team Member Recognized by the JFK Presidential Library and Museum

Michael Vawter, member of the 2004-2005 Christopher Columbus Awards Finalist Team RoboSwitch from Ohio, is continuing to do amazing things in science! Inducted into the National Gallery for Young Inventors and named one of the top eight inventors in the September 2009 issue of Popular Science magazine, Michael continues to show how Christopher Columbus Awards exposes students to the fun, exciting and diverse world of science.

Michael is currently being featured on the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum website! In celebration of the 50th anniversary of JFK's inauguration, the JFK Presidential Library and Museum is highlighting a video mosaic legacy gallery to showcase people who are contributing to the President's legacy in their respective fields, including Science and Innovation. Go to http://www.jfk50.org, click the 'Legacy Gallery' tab at top right, then the Science & Innovation tab and scroll over photos in the top row to find Michael and hear him talk about what he has been doing in science since CCA. Michael is a freshman studying Neuroscience at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he hopes to be involved in vision research this summer, so continue to watch for news from him in science!

Grant Winners Participate in White House Science Fair

The 2009-2010 Columbus Foundation Community Grant winners, Arthritis Magic from Madison, Mississippi, participated in the White House Science Fair as part of the President's "Educate to Innovate" campaign. Click here to learn more.

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