GHS Innovation Lab Students Showcase Prototypes and Designs at Arch Street Teen Center

Innovation Lab students from Greenwich High School set up their exhibition at Arch Street Teen Center on May 10, 2017 Photo: Leslie Yager

On Wednesday, Innovation Lab students from Greenwich High School set up an exhibition at Arch Street Teen Center.

The exhibition features Student Prototypes and Designs from the end of year Innovation Lab STEM projects of both juniors and sophomores.

Innovation Lab juniors prepared to present their work on their “Machines as Metaphors for Government” project, and most sophomores were set to present their work from the “Eureka! It’s Battery Power!” project. A partial exhibit will remain on display at Arch Street through Sunday, May 14.

All juniors projects are labeled in red and sophomores projects are labeled in green.

Innovation Lab teacher Sarah Goldin explained that the sophomores prompt was to create something with sustainable energy to power something of their choice. The juniors prompt was create a metaphor for government.

One of the clever projects is a Power Generating Mouse Wheel, powered by “Egg” the mouse. The project involved a mouse wheel that utilizes the kinetic energy that is produced when the mouse runs on a wheel. That energy can be used to power a small automatic feeder. The mouse wheel was printed with a 3D model maker Tinkercad.

Another project involves the illusion of a light bulb. “This is a real image using geometric optics,” explained Dana Schlosser, an Inn Lab teacher. “The light bulb reflects off of a mirror and creates a real inverted image. It’s a cool effect.”

Fjolla Gashi explained the project that mimicked the process of a bill becoming law.

“We created a system with three holes to represent the branches of government,” Fjolla said. “The idea is to show how our history at different points in time, when each of the branches of government had more power over the other.”

Fjolla used the example of the executive order. “The President has the most power and doesn’t need the permission of the other two branches of government.”

“We have 33 marbles and only one makes it to the end,” said Sofi De La Siera. “It’s an inefficient process because only three percent of bills become law.”

Dana Schlosser (Inn Lab teacher), Corinne Flax (Bruce Museum), Kyle Silver (Arch Street Teen Center Director), Sarah Goldin (Innovation Lab teacher) and Brian Walach (Innovation Lab teacher) at the Arch Street Teen Center

Left to right: Dana Schlosser (Inn Lab teacher), Corinne Flax (Bruce Museum’s manager of school and community partnerships), Kyle Silver (Arch Street Teen Center Director), Sarah Goldin (Innovation Lab teacher) and Brian Walach (Innovation Lab teacher) at the Arch Street Teen Center. May 10, 2017 Photo: Leslie Yager

Aditya Malhotra, with his group’s project, a Solar Powered Heart Rate Monitor. Aditya’s project incorporated the use of a heart monitor, powered by solar energy, which is attached to a bike. Along with Tyler Rozmus, Zachary Karson and Olivia Gurciullo, Aditya used the bike to attach a heart rate monitor, which was wired to a single solar panel. The group built a hardboard base for the solar panel that is clamped to the bike below the seat. Bikers who keep track of their health, monitoring calories burned, their heart rate, and distance traveled will find the invention useful and necessary for casual or professional bikers.

The project “How a Bill Becomes a Law” featured a machine that illustrates the process a bill goes before it becomes law. The point was to illustrate the length of time and inefficiency of the process.

Solar Powered Terrarium. This project made a solar powered self-sustaining terrarium. With a humidifier and a programmable thermostat, this system can be used to maintain varying temperatures within a controlled environment. Practically, this terrarium could be used for everything from reptile care to growth of bacteria thanks to its variable temperature controls.