Marlboro Students Win Science Contest

Students from Marlboro Memorial Middle School have won first place in the world’s largest K-12 science competition.

The students have been named first-place national winners in the 23rd annual Toshiba and NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) ExploraVision program, according to a news release from the program.

The eighth-graders, Preanka Pillai and Karena Yan, were coached by Samantha Grzelak.

The Marlboro students were one of “eight teams to be selected from a group of twenty-four regional winning teams,’’ the news release said.

Their project looked at the preservation of organic food: “The PACS (Protection Against Contamination and Spoilage) wrap will serve as an effective method of preserving organic food and detecting food poisoning by incorporating four layers that utilize denaturation, biosensors, and electrochromism,’’ according to a description of the project.

A seventh-grade team from Marlboro Middle School received an honorable mention.

Photo courtesy ExploraVision; Caption: Samantha Grzelak (coach), Preanka Pillai, Karena Yan, Jessica Ramos (Toshiba)