Some of the brightest young minds from across the country are making their way to Washington, D.C. today, and that includes two high school students from Connecticut.
John Voelker and Miraj Rahematpura from Xavier High School in Middletown are among more than 100 students from over 45 states taking part in the second White House Science Fair.
President Obama will welcome the students as a way to stress the importance of science and technology in schools.
“If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House," President Obama said after the first White House Science fair in 2010. "Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”
During today's fair, the President will view exhibits of student work, ranging from new inventions to breakthrough research. He'll then talk to the students about the importance of science, technology, engineering and math.
So what did Voelker and Rahematpura do to earn their ticket to meet the President? The Xavier seniors are co-captains of their school's engineering team which won the 2011 National Championship of the Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) for designing a next-generation airplane wing that maximizes fuel efficiency and enhances performance.
Other exhibitors include 16-year-old Hayley Hoverter from Los Angeles. She actually invented an ecologically conscious dissolvable sugar packet.
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There's also Ma'Kese Wesley and Isis Thompson. The Missouri sixth graders invented a UV-light lunchbox. It actually sanitizes food between when it's packed in the morning and when a student opens it at lunchtime.
Click here for more on all of the impressive students and their creations.
