Central High School
Mathematicians in the Making
People’s Choice Award, Third Place: $5,000
Central High School’s project created a hands-on STEM event designed to spark curiosity and promote access to science, technology, engineering, and math for elementary school students in North Philadelphia. Their “Math Mania Day” was organized by ten clubs from Central High School; the event brought together 50 high school students to support 100 elementary school students from five different schools. Their project was inspired by the success of an existing math tutoring program, "Mathematicians in the Making," and aims to inspire younger students to pursue high-level STEM courses in the future by making these subjects fun and accessible.
The clubs ran activities, from building robotic hands and extracting DNA from strawberries to simulating a market economy and using Oreos to understand the phases of the moon. The event created excitement around STEM while fostering meaningful mentorship between older and younger students.



