Charles County Public Schools Teams Compete and Place in State MESA Competition

May 16, 2024

Malcolm

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teams recently competed in the Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) state competition, with four CCPS elementary school clubs taking first place in challenges designed to test engineering know-how, creativity and teamwork.

The Statewide MESA Day Showcase and Awards Ceremony was held May 4 at the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel.

There are five challenges in the MESA showcase — the Storybook Theme Park Ride Challenge, the Community Clean Up Challenge, the Planetary Lander Challenge, the Wearable Technology Challenge and the National Engineering Design Competition.

The Storybook Challenge is limited to elementary school teams, while the Community Clean Up, Planetary Lander and Wearable Technology challenges were open to all three levels — elementary, middle and high schools. Middle and high school MESA clubs can tackle the National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC).

CCPS elementary schools placed first in four challenges. A team from Berry Elementary School placed first in the Community Clean Up Challenge; first place in the Wearable Technology Challenge was awarded to a club from William A. Diggs Elementary School; a team from Malcolm Elementary School placed first in the Planetary Lander Challenge; and a club from Diggs took home a first-place trophy in the Storybook Theme Park Ride Challenge.

A team from Theodore G. Davis Middle School placed second in the Wearable Technology Challenge and a Piccowaxen Middle School club received a second-place award in the National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC).

A team from St. Charles High School nabbed third place in the Planetary Lander Challenge.

MESA teams participate in competitions while learning about and engaging in engineering, computer programming, physics and other STEM disciplines. MESA students see real-world applications of lessons they are learning in school, develop the STEM skills they will need in the future and begin to see how they could one day work in STEM careers.