Vark Tank Showcases Academic Ingenuity

Seventh grade scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs recently shared their expertise and inventions at Vark Tank 2025.

The student teams presented prototypes of products designed to adapt to or mitigate climate change. Their classmates and the “Vark” judges watched attentively as each group presented their ideas.

“The students started their research on climate change shortly after Thanksgiving, when they delved into the causes and effects of climate change, and what’s currently being done to mitigate it,” said Denise Dumouchel, seventh grade science teacher and coordinator of Vark Tank.

The students were challenged to design, make, and pitch their new product.

“This process is part of the OES inquiry cycle, of exploring new ideas, connecting with people who know about these ideas, creating their own ideas about it, trying a few iterations, and finally committing to a final product, and then reflecting on their experience in the Vark Tank itself,” said Dumouchel.

There were several stages to the creative process, starting with a quick paper prototype, then a quick cardboard prototype, and then a polished 3D prototype to present at Vark Tank. The students made use of the many resources available in the EC3 Design Center.

EC3 Director Cameron Jack said, “I look forward to working with the seventh graders on their Vark Tank projects every year in EC3. The students bring such a wonderful blend of curiosity about the world and a willingness to think far outside the box to come up with novel solutions to the problems they are identifying and researching. They are able to coax marvelous details from simple materials—paper, cardboard, masking tape, Sharpie and Posca markers—in order to generate initial prototypes which serve as a great base of understanding as they build more precise, complex versions for presentation. It leaves a bit of a void when the EC3 shelves full of seventh grade creations migrate to the Middle School, but I know that this trove of amazing student work will serve its final purpose well: making students’ thinking visible in their presentations to the Varks. I hope our brave inventors feel richly rewarded for their ingenuity and creativity—they deserve it!”

When the big day came, each team presented its idea before a panel of judges, made up of OES faculty and staff members. The judges had $200,000 in fictional Vark Tank money that they decided how to invest after each presentation, choosing from among eight prototypes per session.

Examples of the ideas the students came up with were:

• A drone for reseeding forests after fires
• A wind-powered phone charger
• A solar-powered robot with a heat sensor that puts out forest fires where they start
• An engine exhaust filter
• A desalination tank powered by waves
• A shoe that powers your phone when you step
• A sink that combines water capture and composting
• A phytoplankton-dispersing mechanism to enhance ocean ecosystems
• A robotic bee that kills parasites in hives and keeps away predators

EC3 Operations Manager Jam Mandeberg said, “Each year the seventh graders bring a spectacular new lens to learning and understanding the world around them through Vark Tank. They approach the project with an air of curiosity and wonder, eager to explore how their prototypes not only will change their world for the better, but help them better understand the process of designing something using their power for good within. With this year's focus on climate change, students came up with an array of ideas, incorporating various mechanisms, attributes, and materials. They took to the prototyping stages with the readiness to see how their ideas could expand and grow. From paper, to cardboard, to the final prototype, each step showed increased knowledge, not only in what their prototypes could potentially ‘achieve,’ but also in the knowledge that they have the power to enact change within their community and the world.”

The Vark Tank judges were also impressed by the students’ abilities. Associate Head of School Aline García Rubio, a first-time judge, said, “I enjoyed witnessing our students’ work and was impressed by their practice of essential skills that will serve them well through life. Their presentation skills (communication), working with each other (collaboration), and design (creativity) were most salient. Their projects were research-informed and directly connected with authentic needs such as preventing and extinguishing fires, mitigating air pollution, and providing clean water and green energy for daily tasks. I believe that middle schoolers felt empowered by their learning and by having an authentic audience. Plus, it was fun!”