2010 CT Student Innovation Expo

This past weekend I participated, with a group of my students, in the CT Student Innovation Expo at the Hartford Convention center. The expo features the work of over 1000 middle through high school students covering a wide variety of projects including information technology research & design, biotechnology, digital movie making, pre-engineering, e-commerce, and health sciences. The students work on comprehensive group projects and present their ideas in front of a panel of judges.

This was my 3rd year participating in the event, working with a group of high school students in the ITR&D category. My students developed a video game (awesomely entitled “Ninja Squirrel”) with the goal of spreading awareness of deforestation. Each year I enter the event nervous, hoping that I have done all I could to prepare my students for a long day of engaging students, educators, and business people from around the state. Each year I leave feeling excited and energized about teaching. 

The quality of student work from around the state was truly impressive. It’s amazing to see what a group of teenagers can create when given a small amount of opportunity and guidance. While our group didn’t walk away from the event with any awards, the day seemed to leave the students both satisfied and hungry for more.

Perhaps most telling, my students spent the bus ride back to New Haven discussing ways they can improve their project. For them, the expo didn’t signify that their work was over but that it had just begun.