SCRANTON, Pa. -- Nothing was distracting a group of hard-at-work students during the 2018 STEM Design Challenge featuring K'NEX at Johnson College in Scranton.
The students took a break from the classroom to construct some elaborate designs.
"It's a wonderful idea for them to get out of the normal classroom environment and to get an opportunity to fail, but fail forward. They're failing in a positive way. They're failing in a safe way and they can make those changes to their designs because they have an opportunity to improve when they see it doesn't work the way they want it to," explained Alexandra Konsur, NEIU STEM services coordinator.
For this year's project, each group had to make a home device that is environmentally friendly. They then had to explain to the judges what makes their device environmentally friendly.
"It's environmentally friendly because it's all solar powered, and people don't like mowing the lawn anymore, and it has a solar-powered garage," Forest City Regional fifth grade student Johnathon Conlogue said of his design.
"You use the claw to pick up the trash, and you want to put it in the trash train, and that's how you do it," explained Michael Schuster, Dunmore fourth grader.
"It makes kids inspired and educated to pick up their own trash," said Krithika Krishnan, Dunmore fourth grader.
"We use different sources to power your house. We use rain water, bark and sawdust, and poultry litter. It saves you a lot of money on your bills and stuff," said Lackawanna Trail sixth grader Lily Jagoe.
Clearly, these students are already thinking of ways to help keep the earth clean.