Zora Neale Hurston (1942, p. 143) described research, which is part of inquiry, in the following way:

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein.

Last night we celebrated the purposeful poking and prying of students who had entered this year’s TeenTech Awards. Remarks from parents highlighted two things—the variety and originality of the ideas that students had come up with to make the world a better place, and the knowledge and passion with which they discussed them. This, of course, is a reflection who they are in the process of becoming, which is more important, and more profound.

We are excited that two of this year’s teams have qualified for the final round of judging at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London at the end of June.

• Alice, Effie and Lucia in Year 7 qualified in the Food and Retail category for Savvy Shopper, their smart shopping trolley that utilizes RFID technology to adapt to different shopping styles and needs, including an edutainment mode for shoppers with young children. Judges praised the project for being “thoroughly researched, with good critical analysis of options, [demonstrating] a very high level of thinking about the challenges of modern shopping.”
• Edouard and Reuben in Year 8 qualified in the Best Research (Years 7-11) category for WoodlandWardens, their spider-like robot whose primary function is to survey trees and report on their health and structural integrity in order to minimize costly storm damage, and more broadly, a suite of robots with different shapes adapted to different kinds of woodlands and forests. Judges praised the project for its demonstration of “strong research capability and clear understanding of a real ecological challenge, combining desk research, field investigation, species data analysis and meaningful consultation with local experts.”

We are very much looking forward to the Final, less so for the chance to win an award—after all “the prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out, the kick in the discovery” (Feynman, 1999)—than as an excuse for further purposeful poking and prying.