Pine View Students Finish 2nd In National ExploraVision Competition

LAND O’ LAKES, FL – Thanks to their plan to help create a sanctuary for coral reefs, three Pine View Elementary School students finished in second place nationally in their age group in the 25th annual ExploraVision contest.

The team of fifth graders Caden Sessions and Zachary Tomasello, and fourth grader Brady Longmuir, will be honored in Washington, D.C., along with the seven other national finalists from June 7-10. They will be joined by their coach, Anastacia Kelley, and their team mentor, Heather Tomasello.

Also, the students each won a U.S. EE Savings Bond worth $5,000 at maturity.

The Pine View team won their regional competition back in March with their design for a Coral Reef Monitored Growth Sanctuary. The concept would help coral reefs grow while providing scientists with consistent information about coral bleaching, ocean water temperature and acidity.

The Pine View team was one of 24 regional winners across four grade classifications during the 2017 ExploraVision competition. After winning their regional competition, the Pine View students brought their visions for the Coral Reef Monitored Growth Sanctuary to life through a website and a prototype.

More information about the team’s project can be seen at their website at nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/coral.

Sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association, ExploraVision is a competition for K-12 students that challenges students to solve a real-world problem that may take place 20 years in the future with a strong emphasis on STEM.

Since its inception in 1992, ExploraVision has seen more than 350,000 students from across the United States and Canada participate in its annual competition.

For more information on the ExploraVision competition, visit http://www.exploravision.org.

Image courtesy of Ketchum