Abbey Stanton - Special to the Sun

Over the last few months, several students from Wallace Middle School participated in the Edison Challenge where students were to put together a project designed to encourage people to conserve energy. A total of 39 middle schools and high schools from all over Southern California entered projects. Details on this challenge were brought to the Wallace campus by Edison representative Gerald Loomer who also took time to share his personal experiences with his attempt to become a part of NASA’s space shuttle program.

The 6th Grade Wallace Team (Gillian Amos, Shasta Christensen, Brooke Kelso, Holly Rickel, Jill Shultz, and Kassie Solis) was escorted to the Edison Challenge site at the San Pedro Marine Aquarium by Mrs. Campbell. These girls put together a project which was to teach students, parents, and school visitors how to recycle. They took photographs, created and put up numerous educational posters, and collected recyclables from various spots on the Wallace campus. The recyclable items the students collected were cashed in and the money was deposited into a fund to be used for scholarships for Wallace students to go to science camp at K.E.E.P. Ocean in May. To conclude their project, the girls put together a video presentation and sample portfolio of their project and submitted it to the Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island for judging.

When they traveled to the awards ceremony at the San Pedro Marine Aquarium, they would find out how they ranked against the other entrants. When they arrived at the Aquarium, the teams were given one last challenge to see if they could build something from Legos that would be representative of their project. The Wallace Team decided to build a recycle bin. 'Though we didn’t win the competition,' commented Mrs. Campbell, 'the girls put together a great project and were successful at making people more aware about recycling.'