Dynamic girl duo, Isabella Kenny and Daphne Broyzna, won first place in the Elementary Category at STEAM Tank for their app ReCraft. Their app is a spin-off of the game Minecraft that not only encourages recycling, but makes it fun.
Last May, the girls entered ReCraft into the 2017 US ARMY & NJSBA STEAM Tank Regionals. In total, there were 193 applicants in the entire state of New Jersey. From the 193 applicants, the judges chose 90 groups to compete in the North, Central, and South Jersey Regionals. Isabella and Daphne’s idea was the only application that was unanimously selected by the judges.
In October, Isabella and Daphne brought ReCraft to the STEAM Tank Finals held at the NJSBA Convention in Atlantic City. There, they competed against 32 other groups.
“This award comes from hard work and dedication,” said Principal Geoffrey Haines, “By two young ladies, Bella and Daphne; their advisor Maureen Baldini; and the support of our Superintendent Dr. Taylor and the school board, along with the greater community. I can’t wait to see the development of the app! It all fits in with our school’s goal to be as green as we can possibly be.”
The STEAM Tank Challenge, created and sponsored by NJSBA and the U.S. Army, encourages students in the areas of STEAM – science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. The program, launched at Workshop 2016, pits student teams in a contest modeled after the Shark Tank television show. Teams create innovative projects, and present their inventions before a judging panel of entrepreneurs, business leaders and inventors.
The girls were formally recognized at the 2017 NJEA Convention on Thursday, November 9th and awarded $2,500.00 towards developing the app provided by PSEG through a collaborative grant with NJ Audubon – Eco Schools
