On November 8, the same day that Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen introduced a resolution designating November 8th as “National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Day”, Incline High School students shared what they plan to do with the $7500 grant they recently received from Lemelson-MIT.

Last year, engineering teacher Adam Shoda initiated the process for applying for the Lemelson-MIT grant, working with engineering students to create a winning plan for an invention that is very much needed in the Lake Tahoe area.

His class submitted an initial application in the spring with a generic idea of how they envisioned their snow load invention, then submitted a more intense secondary application over the summer.

“We did a lot of writing,” Mr. Shoda says. He has been teaching at Incline High School for 20 years, as much time as the InvenTeam initiative has been in existence.

Principal Tierney Cahill says that this class has been working on the snow load invention with an MIT fellow/censor specialist, meeting with him on a weekly basis since the beginning of the school year to help the students plan, design, and develop an invention that would be useful to Tahoe’s inhabitants.

“Over the next eight months, our Incline High School InvenTeam will work to create a detection system to address the problems created by heavy snow loads on rooftops,” said Shoda. “My students are enthused and excited about the project, and they have been working hard to organize the project and move forward with it,” he adds.

Incline High School has been folding new technologies and equipment into its classrooms to be more in line with the STEM-type jobs that are present in today’s world. For instance, Principal Tierney Cahill says that the classroom we were all in used to be the old woodshop but now students interested in engineering can learn welding, fabrication, and 3D printing.

“This classroom is about being curious about what problems you want to solve and having the tools and skills to find solutions for them,” Cahill says.

As she shows off a wall of VEX Robotics kits, a group of girls hover around the laser cutter, watching Mr. Shoda demonstrate how to program the piece of machinery to do what they want. The students are making leather keychains in the shape of Lake Tahoe at that moment, but they’ve also made custom charcuterie boards and signs for other school classrooms.

“They’re still using sanders and wood cutters, but this is more applicable in the modern world,” Mr. Shoda says. “They’re thinking like entrepreneurs,” he adds. For that evening’s STEM Open House, they made engraved cups and signs.

“We try to get the kids using the equipment themselves,” Mr. Shoda says. “Look at that,” he adds, pointing over to the laser printer. “This is the best part- showing them how to use it and now they’re showing each other.”

Receiving the Lemelson-MIT grant is huge, though, as it will truly allow the students to showcase their skills and innovation.

“The InvenTeams are focusing on solving problems that impact their local communities. Teams are focusing their technological solutions – their inventions – on inequities in health and well-being, environmental issues, and safety concerns. These high school students are not just problem solvers of tomorrow, they are problem solvers today helping to make our world more equitable, healthier, and safer,” says Lemelson-MIT’s Invention Education Officer Leigh Estabrooks.

IHS is one of eight teams in the entire nation who was awarded an InvenTeams grant and will present their final prototype of the snow load detection system at EurekaFest taking place in June at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at its main campus in Cambridge. The $7500 stipend/grant they received will be used for anything they need to build their invention- the electronics, gear…” It’s explicitly stated on what you can spend the money on,” Mr. Shoda says.

The students are currently in the background researching stage, and then will build a working prototype that will go before a technical review in February.

“Picture a building with a small-scale roof that you can throw sand on,” Mr. Shoda says. “We will create an artificial environment for testing.”

Chloe Greer is one of the team leaders who is motivated to find a real-world solution for this Tahoe problem. Growing up in Incline Village, she’s seen the effects of snow loads on buildings in the area, especially after last season.

“We live in a higher elevation neighborhood and our house has a crack down the window from the pressure of the beam in the roof, and the doors became hard to open. It’s hard to know how much snow is too much until it’s too late,” Greer says. “The integrity of the roof is still okay, but it did take a lot of money to get it cleared off and inspected,” she adds.

We talked about the kind of snow that falls on Tahoe roofs and what can happen when different weather systems come through for months at a time.

“Here in Incline, we’ll have a huge storm and then the sun comes out, it turns to ice and then snows on top of that,” Greer affirms.

A team leader in the project, Greer says she has learned a lot about applied physics, technology, leadership, and time management with the IHS InvenTeam so far.

Another student, Ellie Lowden, oversees the finances of the project. “This is a very cool opportunity, only eight high schools received this,” Lowden says about receiving the grant.

She remembers last winter when the Raley’s in South Lake Tahoe closed when their roof caved in, and when her neighbor’s deck collapsed. Her and her classmates took all of this in when trying to think of a worthwhile invention. She says that one of the main things she learned through all of this is how to work with others.

“I think this could be a standard thing for homes in the Tahoe area and gives businesses peace of mind, creates jobs. It will be helpful for the region,” Greer adds.

The InvenTeam is also working with Mary Danahey and Sharon Schrage of Incline Education Fund to help guide the students through the development of their invention. IEF is a nonprofit that was formed three

years ago to help create equity within the schools and 99 percent of its funds go directly to Incline’s public schools and its students.

“We are very proud of our IHS InvenTeam students and look forward to working with them to complete this project,” Danahey adds.