HAZELWOOD, Mo. — Houston... we have smart kids in St. Louis. Students in the Ferguson-Florissant School District are the latest winners of NASA's space exploration contest, TechRise.
"We found out that it was us and it was just a huge shock because nobody expected it," STEAM Academy Middle School eighth-grade student Miyauna Bryant told 5 On Your Side.
STEAM Academy Middle School's team is one of 60 winners nationwide. "It was a pretty big surprise," admits STEAM Academy Middle School 8th Grade Integrated Science Teacher and Science Chair Gina Pereda, "I do have to say that of all the projects that we submitted, when I found out who did win, it was the one I was like 'yep, they deserved it the most'."
TechRise is in its third year of competition and this is the first year STEAM Academy Middle School entered. "The coolest part about it is working with NASA and seeing where our project goes from on paper and pen and colored pencils and markers to actually getting to build it in real life," Bryant said.
Pereda did have the students build mock-ups before submitting them to NASA.
"We chose to go with the vibration sensors to make sure there is not too much turbulence on the landing and the take off," explained STEAM Academy Middle School eighth-grade student Henry Bowes, "along with the thermometers to make sure it is not getting too warm inside the area."
The students' project will go on a rocket-powered lander destined for a test field that resembles the moon's surface. Pereda said the students chose their experiment because they wanted to test rocket equipment safety.