Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Bayer/NSF Award for the Innovation Generation 1999-2000

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 - Batty 4 Bats - St. Therese School, Parkville, MO

Problem: Endangered bats in Missouri.
Solution: Educating people on the positive environmental impact of bats.

Second Place and $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant - Science Squad - Hamilton Middle School, Houston, TX

Problem: Fifth grade students not understanding science.
Solution: Team will visit schools in the community that have low TAAS scores and teach the students fun ways of learning and understanding science.

Third Place - Kiddie Katcher - Millennium Middle School, Sanford, FL

Problem: Crib-related accidents.
Solution: A net attached to the side of the crib which deploys and catches the child if it falls out of the crib. The net folds up flush when the crib is not in use.