Elizabeth Gatten, an alumna of Cool Girls Science and Art Club and a 7
th
grader at Centennial Middle School was named the North American winner of the micro:bit 2018 Global Challenge. The contest challenged kids from around the world to create solutions that would improve safety or reduce non-communicable disease utilizing the micro:bit microcomputer. Elizabeth chose to tackle safety, specifically home security.
Researching home break-ins in her country, she found that a home security system is the most effective deterrent for preventing home burglaries. After reviewing the facts she was inspired to create a cheap home burglar alarm utilizing the micro:bit. Elizabeth’s solution used the micro:bit’s accelerometer to detect whether a front door was being broken into. Upon detection, the micro:bit would sound the alarm, emulating a police siren and squad car lights. The whole system costs less than $25.
Winning the contest was such a thrill for Elizabeth. The winners were treated to a trip to London along with one of their parents. Besides seeing the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and Kings Cross platform 9 ¾, the main highlight was getting to know the other global winners. She met children from Singapore, Brazil, Croatia, and Saudi Arabia. The winners showed each other their creative solutions.
Micro:bit is holding another Global Challenge in 2019. The contest rules for Do Your Bit will be released July 2nd. Entries will be accepted from September to November. Here’s a link for more info:
micro:bit contest website .
Maybe another Cool Girl will win in 2019!
What a Cool Girl way to go, Elizabeth!
