WCS Student Among Top Winners in Science Challenge-7142

Published July 15, 2016

An Edmondson Elementary School fifth-grader is earning accolades for her ability to think out-of-the-box.

Ten-year-old Gitanjali Rao was named the Tennessee Merit Winner for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The challenge, which was open to students in fifth through eighth grade, was to create a short video describing a “new, innovation solution that could solve an everyday problem.”

After narrowing down a list of ideas with the help of her teacher, Katie Logan, Gitanjali decided to create a quick snake-bite device using non-contact thermography.

Her project was selected as a state merit winner, which means Gitanjali is the youngest winner in the country. The state merit winners, while not necessarily finalists in the competition, received points for creativity and persuasiveness of their project and video.

For her win, Gitanjali received a technology prize pack, which included a tablet and other items.