Sanborn Central’s Plastic Patriots GeoChallenge team has been invited to participate in the 2019 GeoChallenge regional competition in Minneapolis, Minn.. They are the only team in South Dakota who were invited to participate

During regional competition, Morgan Hoffman, Jessie Krueger, Sidney Salas, Casady Dean, and Alex Schelske will meet and interact with other students that tackled plastic this year. Participants will learn new things, exchange ideas, celebrate their impact on reducing plastic pollution in the water and compete for prizes, including a trip to Washington, D.C. for the first place team.

There are sixteen regional competitions taking place across the United States on March 29, involving over 250 teams and their coaches, chaperones and parents.  The team will have a 10-minute session with a panel of appraisers. During this session, the students will present their Tackling Plastic! solution and its impact (real/potential), as well as answer questions from the appraisers.

The students met weekly outside of class with their coach, Marci Farmer, to discuss their research and ideas. The students chose a waterway to reduce plastic pollution, created a solution, developed a prototype and created a video to showcase their GeoChallenge journey. The team’s submission has been scored and the group has been invited to the regional competitions. If you see these young scientists, wish them luck and cheer them on for being environmental leaders and improving our planet!