Posted April 2023
An anti-theft purse, an underwater coral conservation robot, and a mental health subscription box are just a few of the 5th-grade capstone projects presented by the more than 200 Kyrene Gifted students who participated in the annual District-wide Gifted Showcase Nights on March 22 and 29.
Each student was tasked with selecting a problem of personal interest to research and then had to come up with a solution to that problem, all under the theme: World Solutions. Many students designed creative solutions designed to help protect the environment, support individuals’ mental health and make everyday household chores a little easier.
“Our students are future problem solvers of the world,” shared Kyrene Gifted & Talented Coordinator Beth Snyder. “This capstone project was designed to develop sound research skills that include vetting and citing online sources, applying new knowledge to real-world problems.”
One student from Kyrene de los Niños Elementary School created a mental health subscription box, which delivers items curated for individuals to support their mental health based on the results from an online quiz. The items in the box would be tailored to an individual’s answers on the quiz, with the option to retake the quiz later if the individual isn’t satisfied with their items.
Another student, from Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary School, designed a purse with several safety features to ensure valuable belongings aren’t stolen, including an alarm, 24/7 tracking system, fingerprint scanner to open the purse and would be made of chain mail material.
Many students designed solutions to help protect the environment, including one student from Kyrene de los Cerritos Leadership Academy, who created a remote-controlled “coral conserver.” The Coral Conserver is deployed underwater and identifies sick, pale, algae-covered reefs. The operator can then deploy sea urchins stored in the conserver into the reef to clean up the algae and help conserve the coral.
“We are so proud of our students' inventive thinking, growth mindset and desire to make the world a better place,” Snyder said.
