Pitch Day 2024 was FIN-TASTIC!
Mahalo nui for helping us close our FishTank 2024 season. Our in-person Pitch Day event was held at UH Hilo on March 9th, 2024, where five finalist teams presented their Lightning Pitches to a live audience of over 70 participants. Student teams and their families and friends were joined by their team coordinators, STEM professionals/SME and NexTech supporters, and volunteers to hear about their solutions to real and local problems.
Well done to all our teams that participated this season! We're so proud of your learning and personal growth. You overcame obstacles, followed your curiosity, and went out into the community to learn and challenge your thinking—not always easy for any of us.
Many thanks to our special guests, including Derek Kurisu of KTA/Living in Paradise, who joined us for a second time as our host. Our judges included engineers, community leaders, and educators who offered questions and deliberation. To Auston Stewart, Nalukai Foundation Executive Director, who inspired our teams to continue their journeys beyond FishTank.
To Chris Parayno and David Alvarez of Na Leo TV, who captured this memorable day full of proud moments, laughter, and celebration. And especially our NexTech team and FishTank volunteers/SME for your support throughout the season!
And our deepest gratitude to our Team Coordinators/Parents who supported our teams through our 8-week program.
Congratulations to all our 2024 finalists and our scholarship award winners!
Team Potato Batteries placed First for Team Award, Best Teamwork, and People's Choice. Anwar Genz also won third place in the Best Technical Notebook category.
Team Potato Batteries earned $2,500 in scholarship awards, plus a $400 donation each to The Food Basket and BSA Troop 210 in their name. Team members include Anwar Genz (Hilo High, Grade 10), Rayaan Genz (Hilo Intermediate, Grade 8), Gavin Wagner (Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science, Grade 10), and Andrew Woolverton (Hiilo High, Grade 9).
Aloha+Challenge Impacted: Local Food Production & Consumption
Project Overview: Team Potato Batteries developed an app to help farmers determine how much fertilizer a specific plant needs based on their soil chemistry and recommend the best plants to grow.
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Team Mazu My-5 placed Second for the Team Award. The team also placed First (Kayley) and Second (Jaxon) for Best Technical Notebook. They earned $1,400 in scholarship awards, plus a $500 donation to the Waiakea Intermediate School Robotics Club in their name. Team members include Kayley Shimazu (Waiakea Intermediate, Grade 8) and Jaxon Shimazu (Waiakea Intermediate, Grade 7).
UN SDGs Impacted: #13 Climate Action, #1 No Poverty, #7 Affordable and Clean Energy
Project Overview: Team Mazu My-5 addressed the lack of recycling in Hawaii with a reverse vending machine (RVM) that can instantly pay Hi-5 for plastic and aluminum bottles.
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Team Youth Coalition for Plastic Free Hawaii placed Third for the Team Award. They earned a $800 scholarship award and a $200 donation to Na Hoa Holomoku Sailing Club in their name. Team members include Koji Ino (Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School, Grade 10) and Yuji Ino (Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School, Grade 7).
Aloha+Challenge Impacted: Solid Waste Reduction
Project Overview: This team designed a solution to reduce the use of plastic water bottles at youth sporting events by installing Flowater refilling stations that use reverse osmosis filters and add electrolytes to improve water flavor.
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Team Smart Hive earned Most Inspirational and a $400 scholarship award. David Kildahl (Volcano School of Arts & Sciences, Grade 7) was the sole member of this team.
Aloha+Challenge Impacted: Smart and Sustainable Communities
Project Overview: David created a device to observe and monitor pest infestation in bee hives, so we can improve and more efficiently care for the health of bee populations.
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Team Who Let the Dogs Out was a 2024 Finalist. Team members include Fierra Roberts (Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School, Grade 9), Joy Ridgely (Homeschool, Grade 8), and Addyson Jenson (Homeschool, Grade 6).
Aloha+Challenge impacted: Smart and Sustainable Communities
Project Overview: This team designed sustainable management of dog populations in rural areas by a centralized website hub with information about mobile vets and dog food drop-offs, education of services, and lobbying for the laws that allow retired or licensed vets in other states to perform duties in Hawaii.
FishTank 2024 Finalists Teams (Left to Right: Who Let the Dogs Out, Potato Batteries, Smart Hive, Mazu My-5, and Youth Coalition for a Plastic Free Hawai'i)
Pitch Day scenes
