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And now, Marvel has found five young women who have proven themselves to be super pioneers of futuristic tech.
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From May 21 to June 11, girls from the ages of 14-18 were invited to participate in Marvel's Ant-Man Micro-Tech Challenge, a new contest sponsored by the comic book studio where contestants were asked to create something "big" from something very small by using at least one readily available micro-technology component (so none of the rare Adamtanium present in Steve Roger's shield or Ultron's maniacal mech body was allowed.) The projects could be utilitarian, artistic, or just fun for the sake of fun.
The contestants were then asked to submit a short video demonstrating their project and how it would inspire future girls to develop an interest in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, or math. On June 29, Marvel announced the winners of the contest, who designed a unique array of inventions that, while diverse, are similar for their innovation and ingenuity.
Each of the winners received two round-trip tickets to Southern California as well as hotel accommodations from June 28-30 to attend the world premiere of Ant-Man at the Dolby Theatre on Monday, June 29. The young women will also attend a special "The Evolution of Technology" workshop held by Walt Disney Imagineers at the Disneyland Resort, and will also get a tour of the historic Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif.
You can see a video of the girls discussing and demonstrating their inventions in the video above, and can learn more about their creations below.
- Allison White
Age 16, from Kaysville, Utah
Allison created a water usage limiter for shower heads, which visually notifies the user when they are exceeding their water usage limit. Allison acquired skills in electrical circuiting and programming while working on her project. She feels her project could help people throughout the world better manage scarce water resources.
Anna Nixon
Age 14, from Portland, Oregon
Anna turned a plush toy into an interactive character with voice recognition, face detection features and a graphical user interface. Anna learned many new skills while creating her project, including three coding languages and how to use AMP stacks to run a dynamic web server. She is looking forward to adding real-time health detection features to her project, so it could be used with youngsters who may otherwise be scared by basic health procedures.
Ashita Patel
Age 16, from Columbus, Georgia
Ashita combined her love of art and engineering to create a robotic arm that draws images created on a computer screen. Ashita learned two coding languages and refined her robot-building skills for this project. She describes her project as a stepping-stone to the integration of art and design into STEM, thereby making STEM more attractive to a wider group of girls.
Elizabeth Almasy
Age 17, from Durham, North Carolina
Elizabeth brought her sense of whimsy to the contest by creating an automated bubble maker shaped like an octopus. This project taught Elizabeth how to program and work with micro-controllers and servos. Elizabeth is excited about sharing her project with other girls because she believes it can show them that science can be fun and that they can be creative while using STEM.
Maxine Hartnett
Age 18, from Boulder, Colorado
Maxine created a sound-actuated lantern. Maxine taught herself a new programming language and how to use pwm pins to vary LED light levels for her project. She feels her project is perfect for a STEM workshop because it is easy to recreate and could give girls new to STEM a boost of confidence when they finish the project on their own.
Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll and Michael Douglas, Marvel's highly-anticipated Ant-Man premieres in theaters nationwide on July 17.
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The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Marvel and this station.