New Hyde Park Road School sixth-graders in Jennifer Coaker’s class and Michael Onorato’s class recently submitted their finished projects to the ASA Solve Together contest.
ASA Solve Together is a competition that challenges students to create innovative solutions to real-world problems. They worked together to find a solution to their identified problem using the ASA contest platform to communicate, collaborate, think critically and be creative. The contest also aims to inspire career exploration and 21st century skill development.
The team from Ms. Coaker’s class chose to solve the ASA-provided challenge of “Building a Colony on Mars.”
The team members are Aaron George, Kingston Hui, Ava Iskhakov, Adittya Nischal and Shaurya Patel. The team from Mr. Onorato’s class tackled the ASA-provided challenge, “Acting on Climate Change,” and included students Ryan Delmar, Paige Dvoroznak, Aditi Parikh, Axl Su and Antonio Tsigos.
Coaker’s team worked tirelessly on the challenge since January 2021, often collaborating together on Google Meet after school hours and during winter and spring breaks. Their finished concept was a successful, multibillion-dollar colony on Mars.
They created a fully interactive website that displayed facts about the planet and their imagined spacecraft that would transport passengers, as well as fleshed out plans and solutions for heat and electricity, water, oxygen, food and more.
Some of the problems they faced included radiation exposure, toxic soil and cold temperatures. The team also came up with 10 rules and laws for their colonists to abide by for safety. Additionally, team member Nischal utilized the game Roblox to create a 3D model layout of their colony.
The video walkthrough was shared on the team’s Google Slide presentation, which was submitted to ASA.
On April 13 through Google Meet, they virtually shared their presentation with their classmates, their families, Principal Kim LaRegina and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Morrison.
Mr. Onorato’s team utilized their critical thinking skills and knowledge of STEM-related subject matter to analyze and inform the public about the current and future impact of climate change.
The team demonstrated leadership and collaborated throughout the research, creation and submission process of their project. Their research resulted in suggestions and solutions that were impressive and applicable to the real-world.
For participating in the competition, the team has the opportunity to win up to $20,000 in grants and prizes. ASA Solve Together will announce the winners on April 25
