Hillview students win Ohio STEM Learning State Challenge

Hillview students Ariana Morris, Gunner Bobo, and Rylie Shonebarger, under the guidance of teachers Kelsey Weisent and Tosha Cooperrider, were declared the winners of the Ohio STEM Learning Network’s 2025 STATE Challenge in the elementary age group. This award-winning STEM team represented the Central Ohio Hub of the OSLM with a presentation of their #OhioSustainsSpace project at Battelle's Columbus Campus on Tuesday, March 4. This team has been invited to visit the John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in May.

Each year, the Ohio STEM Learning Network hosts a design challenge where students collaborate to create a workable solution to key issues facing our world. Any school in Ohio can participate in the challenge. This year’s statewide design challenge continued a partnership with an exciting space program called Starlab. Students explored what it means to live and work in space.

In this year’s design challenge, students were tasked with a critical question: How do we improve the sustainability of life in low-Earth orbit, such as living aboard the Starlab space station? Participants were encouraged to develop a plan, system, or product that positively impacts the sustainable use of materials, habitable space, and/or energy, with the potential to translate these improvements to more sustainable living on Earth.

After advancing from the school-level competition, this Hillview student STEM team presented their innovative solutions to a panel of judges, enhancing their confidence, communication skills, and reflective learning and were selected as the Central Ohio Hub Winners for Elementary--one of the top 21 teams in the state. This accomplishment earned them the opportunity to move on to the State Challenge on March 4th.