As anyone with kids (and big kids like my husband and I) know – Captain America: Civil War is coming to theatres – and to these Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime locations nationwide May 6. Dolby sent me press information on an exciting STEM contest called “Captain America: Civil War – Girls Reforming the Future” from Marvel, Dolby, and other partners, which aims to engage young women to make the world a better place through science and technology.
So as families head to see Captain America filled with super heroes, let’s not forget the girls who are STEM super heroes! Here are details and a YouTube video with guest appearances from fabulous female super heroes stars Emily Vancamp and Elizabeth Olsen:
Girls nationwide, ages 15-18, in grades 10-12, were invited to further the Avengers’ goal of making the world a better place by submitting innovative STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) based projects/inventions that have the potential to change the world. The contest aligns very closely with Dolby’s priority to inspire the next generation of innovators in science and art through STEM initiatives. Five finalists were announced on YouTube and were given the chance to come to Los Angeles and present their projects to a panel of experts. They also had the chance to walk the red carpet at the World premiere of Captain America: Civil War at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The winner, Maia Dua, was just announced today by Marvel in this video, which shows the girls’ demonstrating their inventions and walking the red carpet/interacting with the Captain America stars. Maia gets a one-week internship at MARVEL!!!
Below are the finalist with their inventions. Please join us in spreading the word about these girls’ inspiring accomplishments! #DolbySTEM #DolbyCares #DolbyCinema
Captain America Dolby Girls STEM
WINNER: Maia Dua (Sacramento, CA): Maia won the contest by developing a “seeing eye” robot as a cost-effective and durable alternative to a seeing eye dog. The self-propelled, echo-locating “Seeing Eye-Bot” is made of readily accessible materials, making it more available to individuals of limited financial resources Maia hopes her invention can address the needs of the visually impaired, who may be unable or unwilling to own a seeing eye dog. Margaret Fleck (Emmaus, PA): Margaret created an automated audio level regulating program for headphones she calls “the headphone stairs.” She created a computer program that will progressively reduce the volume of your headphones at predesignated intervals, with the hope that her program will help people safely use their listening devices without fear of damage to their hearing.
Janie Kim (San Diego, CA): Janie developed an inexpensive and efficient method of room decontamination. She created a novel combination of anti-microbial compounds that is highly effective against drug resistant pathogens.
Vivian Qiang (Marlboro, NJ): Vivian designed and built an efficient and cost effective hybrid solar thermal collector for residential space and water heating, which could help address the excessive use of climate impacting non-renewable resources.
Holly Rieping (Colorado Springs, CO): Holly designed a network of inexpensive mobile computers with surveillance and education capabilities that run on renewable energy.
