The 7th grade team, We Have Heart, (L to R) Sophie S., Maddie R. and Ashley T., worked on a patch to notify emergency providers during a heart attack.

Denver Discovery School (DDS) 7th and 8th graders placed second in the state in the 16th annual eCYBERMISSION competition. The eCYBERMISSION competition is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program. Administered by the National Science Teachers Association, it is a web-based competition where students in grades six through nine work in teams to identify a

The 8th grade Green Maniacs team, (L to R) Annika P., Elsa E. and Erin M., harnessed electricity using soil bacteria.

problem in their community and use scientific practices or an engineering design process to come up with a solution.

The DDS teams fielded two all-female teams for this competition, We Have Heart and The Green Maniacs, working with Ellie Foust, their team advisor. We Have Heart, the 7th grade team, worked to find an inexpensive way to identify when someone was in cardiac arrest and notify emergency providers through use of a patch that costs less than $500. The 8th grade team, The Green Maniacs, took on the challenge of finding a cost-effective way to harness electricity through the use of common soil bacteria.

Both DDS teams placed second in the state in their respective divisions and were awarded $500 per student in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.