Spring Hill High School was recently awarded a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant in the amount of $10,000 to create an agricultural robotic system to be used in broiler houses of poultry farmers.  The C-Bot (ChickenRobot) will be utilized by producers to monitor environmental conditions and health quality of the birds.  Spring Hill High School is one of 15 high schools nationwide to be selected as an InvenTeam this year.

InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers and mentors that receive grants up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. This initiative of the Lemelson-MIT Program aims to inspire a new generation of inventors.

“The InvenTeams program represents the future,” said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer from the Lemelson-MIT Program.  “We place an emphasis on STEM-focused projects to develop interest in these fields among youth.  With InvenTeams, our primary goal is to foster high school students’ passion for invention, in turn inspiring them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math.” 

Tammy Glass, Business and Technology Instructor at Spring Hill High School initiated the InvenTeam application process last spring and attended training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June to help prepare the final proposal.  A prestigious panel of judges composed of educators, researchers, staff and alumni from MIT, as well as representatives from the industry and former Lemelson-MIT Award winners, assembled this fall and selected Spring Hill High School as one of this year’s InvenTeam grantees.