What were you doing when you were 14? I’m willing to bet it was little different than what the students at the Google Science Fair are working on. Yesterday, Google brought 15 of the smartest 13 – 18 year old students from all over the world together at the fair, each working on a unique solution to some very big problems.
One story in particular comes out of Swaziland, Africa, where two 14 year old boys are providing hydroponic farming methods to extremely poor villages. Crops are said to yield up to 140% more than traditional farming. That allows enough for a family to eat and sell what they grow, adding food and income to an otherwise destitute region.
Of the 15 finalists, a young girl named Brittany Wenger took the top prize of $50,000, a trip to the Galapagos Islands, an internship with one of Google’s partner companies and bragging rights in the school cafeteria. What was it she created? Oh, just the least invasive way to diagnos breast cancer with a %99.11 success rate. No big.
Take a look at the video and see some of the highlights of the Google Science Fair.