Middle school girls from East Hanover, Mendham and Dover were recognized by Novartis Pharmaceuticals on Thursday for their science achievement in the Sally Ride ToyChallenge.Held in May at the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va., teams from Mountain View School in Mendham and East Hanover Middle School earned honorable mentions in the engineering competition that drew hundreds of teams nationwide.Each year, girls in the Novartis-sponsored after school Sally Ride science club have been able to rise to the highest levels of competition. The club's curriculum features hands-on, inquiry-driven activities and emphasizes teamwork.One team from Dover Middle School, named Tasty Pastries, used healthy eating habits as the inspiration behind their toy, The Little Chef, for the challenge. Team member Jeasha Rivera said the toy is designed to help children cook healthy recipes safely. Along with the doll, the toy consists of two recipe books … one for kids and one for adults.The Tasty Pastries were one of 71 teams nationwide invited to present a prototype of their toy at the Sally Ride Science ToyChallenge nationals in Maryland. Along with Rivera, other team members included Camille Fuller, Melitza Patino, Kennya Sotelo, and Stephanie Parraga, all in eighth grade. The team coaches were Angela Barth and Janice Kovach.Rivera said she felt the most rewarding experience was seeing little kids actually play with their toy. "It was cool," she said. Although the Sally Ride clubs are for girls in fifth to eighth grade, many members said they wish they could continue longer. "I would do something like this in high school if there was something," said Allison Romanski, of East Hanover Middle School and team The Smartipants Club.
Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va., teams from Mountain View School in Mendham and East Hanover Middle School earned honorable mentions in the engineering competition that drew hundreds of teams nationwide.Each year, girls in the Novartis-sponsored after school Sally Ride science club have been able to rise to the highest levels of competition. The club's curriculum features hands-on, inquiry-driven activities and emphasizes teamwork.One team from Dover Middle School, named Tasty Pastries, used healthy eating habits as the inspiration behind their toy, The Little Chef, for the challenge. Team member Jeasha Rivera said the toy is designed to help children cook healthy recipes safely. Along with the doll, the toy consists of two recipe books … one for kids and one for adults.The Tasty Pastries were one of 71 teams nationwide invited to present a prototype of their toy at the Sally Ride Science ToyChallenge nationals in Maryland. Along with Rivera, other team members included Camille Fuller, Melitza Patino, Kennya Sotelo, and Stephanie Parraga, all in eighth grade. The team coaches were Angela Barth and Janice Kovach.Rivera said she felt the most rewarding experience was seeing little kids actually play with their toy. "It was cool," she said. Although the Sally Ride clubs are for girls in fifth to eighth grade, many members said they wish they could continue longer. "I would do something like this in high school if there was something," said Allison Romanski, of East Hanover Middle School and team The Smartipants Club.For further details visit at:/www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090620/COMMUNITIES/90619060/1005/NEWS01/Morris+girls+recognized+for+science+projects
