Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Bayer/NSF Award for the Innovation Generation 1998-1999

Bayer/NSF Award for the Innovation Generation and $25,000 Christopher Columbus Foundation Community Grant

Finalist Teams

At an awards ceremony held at Walt Disney World, three of the ten finalist teams place first, second and third and receive $36,000 in savings bonds for their winning entries in the Bayer/NSF Award for Community Innovation program. The competition is geared toward middle school-age children, and gives kids experience in solving real-life problems using the scientific process of exploring, analyzing and drawing conclusions.

The ten teams are judged a second time for the practicality of implementing their idea. The winning team receives the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant to take back to their community to make their innovation a reality.

First Place - Eazy Zap Cap - Cold Spring Harbor Middle School, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

Problem: Arthritis suffers and others have difficulty opening childproof containers.
Solution: Eazy Zap Cap is a device that allows containers to be opened without bending afflicted joints.

Second Place - Pak Rax - Millennium Middle School, Sanford, FL

Problem: Safety hazard of backpacks, instrument cases and other items in the event of a bus accident.
Solution: The Pak Rax is an effective under-seat storage system designed to hold loose items.

Third Place - S.O.S./Save Our Songbirds - Antelope Crossing Middle School, Antelope Crossing, CA

Problem: Lunch scraps left in the schoolyard attracted both predator and songbirds. The predator birds killed the songbirds which are responsible for keeping the insect population under control.
Solution: An awareness program on the environmental impact of leaving food scraps and how it impacts the food web.

$25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant - Bus Door Bust - Hadley E. Watts Middle School, Centerville, OH

Problem: Items getting caught in a school bus door.
Solution: Replacing the rubber door linings with bristles, which allow items to pass through easily.