Students showcase projects and films

WALLINGFORD » Skills21 celebrated 15 years of student innovation with over 2,000 Connecticut middle and high school students showcasing their cuttingedge STEM, digital media, and entrepreneurial projects on May 19 - 20 at Expo Fest, held at the Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford.

Expo Fest is the ultimate challenge project competition experience for high school students engaged in next generation education programs developed by Skills21 at EdAdvance in collaboration with 44 schools statewide.

Local winning schools included Nonnewaug High School, Oliver Wolcott Technical School, Shepaug Valley High School, Torrington High School and Wamogo Regional High School.

Other winners included East Haven High School, ESUMS High School, Farmington High School, Foran High School, Joel Barlow High School, Kaynor Tech High School, Lauralton Hall High School, Mark T. Sheehan High School, Metropolitan Business Academy, Newtown High School , Pathways Academy of Technology & Design, Pomperaug High School and Wilbur Cross. Capstone winners were: Outstanding Community Outreach & Involvement: Madelyne Medina Fairchild Wheeler- Unit of Study - Honey Bees; Application of Research: Kevin Knowles - Pomperaug High School - TeleHome; and Outstanding Project: Mason Fitzpatrick - Pomperaug High School - Safe Vest.

The event kicked off with the red carpet Film Fest, featuring student films in the categories of: 90 Second Challenge, Animation, Preserving Our Histories of CT Veterans, Tobacco Free Public Service Announcements, 84 Hour Challenge, Documentary, Action Sequence, News Story, and Open genre/type.

To see the list of winners, visit expofest. skills21.org/awards

For more information on Skills21 and to learn how to become involved in Expo Fest 2018, visit www. skills21.org.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Students showcased projects and films during the two-day Expo Fest in Walling ford.