FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2013
Danielle McNamara
(510) 987-0230
Press Release
Event Date: Saturday, May 11, 2013
After months of designing, creating and competing, the best middle and high school teams in California will come together to see which group of students can call themselves champs at the MESA Statewide Prosthetic Arm Championship.
Four middle school and four high school teams will compete for top bragging rights during the event on May 11th at the University of the Pacific. These future engineers advanced from preliminary and regional contests and beat out hundreds of other students to participate in the statewide event.
The winning teams’ regions, schools, districts and MESA centers are:
North: Hercules Middle School, West Contra Costa Unified School District, California State University East Bay MESA center; Stagg High School, Stockton Unified School District, University of the Pacific MESA center
Central: Mendota Middle School, Mendota Unified School District; Hoover High School, Fresno Unified School District; both schools served by California State University Fresno MESA center
LA Metro: Monroe Middle School, Inglewood Unified School District; Los Angeles High School, Los Angeles Unified School District; both schools served by University of California Los Angeles MESA center
South: Markham Middle School, Los Angeles Unified School District; Dominguez Hills High School, Compton Unified School District; both schools served by the Chapman University/University of California Irvine MESA center.
The competition requires a team of students to develop a prosthetic device to complete pre-defined tasks. The focus on bioengineering reflects MESA’s goal to involve students with the hottest science, engineering and technology areas. The project teaches students to understand design principles, implement problem-solving techniques and think like mechanical engineers.
The winning high school and middle school teams will then represent California in the national championship to be held in Portland, Oregon in June.
The project is part of MESA Days, an annual showcase of students’ math and science know-how. Through MESA and MESA Day competitions, students can explore future careers in science, engineering and other technical fields.
MESA is an academic preparation program that serves more than 28,000 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged.
For more information about MESA, visit https://live-mesaucop.pantheonsite.io