MHS team wins the Real World Challenge regional

  A five-member team from Marianas High School emerged victorious yesterday in both the state and regional competitions for the Real World Design Challenge, earning the slot to compete in the national contest in Washington, D.C. next month.

The Board of Education and Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan conferred the top award yesterday on Jill Ann Arada, Jonavelle Cuerdo, Clariza Magat, Marjorie Ann Cuerdo, and Eufemio Feria for the group’s winning entry, the “Green Dolphinator.”

They received the plaque with their mentor and teacher, John Raulerson, who promised to make the CNMI and the Public School System more proud of the team when they compete at the national level. The group won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. from April 18 to 23.

The Real World Design Challenge is an annual high school competition for all states and territories whose goal is to transform the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the U.S. by providing professional science and engineering and learning resources to students and teachers. This year, the competitors’ challenge was to develop an aircraft that could fly 200 miles in two hours. This is the first time for PSS to join the contest.

The MHS “Green Dolphinator” aircraft bested entries from Guam and American Samoa in the regional competition after garnering a total of 467 points out of the 500 points.

In the state level competition, Kagman High School’s “Banidosa Air” won second place, while Saipan Southern High School’s “Manta Flyers” emerged third best. All teams presented their entries to the Education Board yesterday.

According to Raulerson, the team has been working since November on the project. He said the “Green Dolphinator” uses no fuel but solar and geothermal energies-an efficient and environment-friendly aircraft that makes it affordable to more passengers.

The team’s mathematician, Eufemio Feria, said they used lightweight materials such as aluminum and fiberglass to build the aircraft’s wing. He said the success of the project lies in the calculation derivatives used to develop the overall design.

Project manager Jill Ann Arada said that extensive research and guidance from national mentors, whom they contacted during the developing process, were key to coming up with the “Green Dolphinator.”

“We’re very excited to go to the national, but we also know that we need to do a lot more for the competition. We need to work hard on our design book,” she added.