GREAT FALLS, Montana (AP) - Five eighth-graders from Montana went to the White House to talk about their award-winning proposal to reduce car accidents caused by whiteout conditions.
The students from the rural town of Sunburst participated in the White House Science Fair this week, talking up their ideas on reducing salt blow-off from the alkali flats.
The students began their research after the school district’s speech pathologist died last year in a car crash, the Great Falls Tribune reported Wednesday (https://gftrib.com/1o69WG4 ). The wreck was caused by whiteout conditions from salt off the alkali flats.
The young scientists - Jeff Owens, Christian Bloch, Chelsea Allen, Aelie Rowell and Treyton Pickering - are seeking a grant for shallow-water testing to see if alfalfa can be used to prevent the runoff that causes excess salt to build up on the flats. The students will be taking alfalfa seeds with them to the White House.
The students have already earned national acclaim and $140,000 in new technology for Sunburst Middle School from Samsung thanks to their in-depth science, engineering, math and technology research. They have already been to Washington, D.C., once - in April - to present their solutions to the town’s deadly alkali flats to business and government officials.
Chelsea said she was excited to go back to Washington, D.C., to see some of the places they didn’t get to in their last trip three weeks ago.
“And meet the president,” she said.
Her classmate echoed that excitement.
“We get to meet the person who runs our country, and that’s kind of awesome,” Aelie said.
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