Plainview-Old Bethpage students to Participate in Toshiba 'Exploravision' National Competition

Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District’s John F. Kennedy High School students Philip Danziger, Samantha Frucht and Grace Smith were recently named regional finalists at the Toshiba ‘Exploravision’ competition. The students were the first to be named regional finalists in the school’s history.

“We are proud of our talented students and will show our support as they go on to represent our school district in this renowned national competition,” said Superintendent Dr. Lorna Lewis. “Philip, Samantha and Grace have demonstrated commitment to achieving academic excellence beyond the classroom and we commend them for their hard work and accomplishments.”

The Toshiba Exploravision program aims to engage and inspire students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields challenging high school students from across the country to research a current technology and envision what it might look like 20 years into the future. The Plainview-Old Bethpage students participated in a division that focused on stem cell research, asking each team to describe how they would use stem cells to perform a complex medical procedure to repair damaged tissue in a 10 page essay to show mastery of the subject material. In the essay, the students detailed the device they envision, the design process, the medical breakthroughs that would be needed to make their vision a reality and weigh the consequences—positive and negative—of implementation. The students also created a website to showcase their developed device against the top teams in the nation.

Photo 1: (l-r) Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District’s students Samanth Frucht, Philip Danziger and Grace Smith will represent John F. Kennedy High School as the first Toshiba Exploravision regional finalists in the district. They will now compete among the top 24 teams in the nation by showcasing their project online.

Photo 2: (l-r) Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District Superintendent Dr. Lorna Lewis and Manager of the Toshiba America Foundation congratulate Samantha Frucht, Philip Danziger, Advisor Mary Lou O’Donnell and Grace Smith for representing John F. Kennedy High School as regional finalists in the Toshiba Exploravision competition.