By John Larson
SOCORRO – A good idea helped a Socorro high School freshman win the second place prize in a science competition the 11th annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge on the Discovery Channel last week.
Nico Seamons, a freshman at Socorro high School, was still in the eighth grade at Cottonwood Valley Charter School when he devised a simple system to help lower cooling costs during summer months. This invention got him into the final competition.
He showed how an ordinary garden hose, punctured with tiny holes and arrayed along the edge of a roof, could use the principle of evaporation to keep adobe houses cool.
Nico was one of 10 semifinalists ranging in age from eight to 14 flown to New York, Monday, Oct. 5, for the half-day final competition.
In the first event, the students presented their own inventions, made of ordinary household products.
Nico’s invention was a disposable bug shield that attached to the front of a car of truck, that could also improve turbulent are flow. His presentation of that experiment can be viewed at
http://www.newsinfusion.com/youngscientist/discovery_innovation.html. It’s the second presentation in the video clip.
In the second round, finalists were asked to purify water, and to separate man-made diamonds from a solid mixture. Next, they were challenged to remove stains and graffiti from replicas of New York City buildings without harming the surfaces.
Nico, Nikita Gaurav of Oregon, and Marina Dimitrov of Montana, were the three winners chosen to compete in the day’s fourth and final event. Each had 50 minutes to design and build a tall structure that could withstand earthquake-level tremors – while holding an egg intact. Adult scientists from the 3M Corporation acted as building assistants, but the students alone did the planning and design.
At the end of the 50 minutes, the three finalists’ structures were tested, one by one, on the earthquake simulator. None of the eggs survived, but each structure remained standing.
For his efforts, Nico was awarded the Science Channel “Build it Bigger” prize, with a chance to go behind-the-scenes at Science Channel’s hit show, Build it Bigger. From the Hong Kong Bridge to the Panama Canal-Build it Bigger goes behind the scenes of some of the world’s most extreme engineering. He will have the one in a lifetime opportunity to visit one of these unique engineering marvels with alongside host Danny Forster.
Nico says what fascinates him most about science is that “it helps people live better.”
In an interview with the Discovery Channel he said, “there are many problems that need solutions, or things that could be improved to make out world a better place.
“By solving one of these problems you know that your work will affect the whole world,” Nico said. “I really like pursuing projects involving mechanical engineering. To be able to have an idea, and then fabricate it and make it come true is always a wonderful experience.”
Nico envisions a career in mechanical engineering, because he loves building things.
“To be able to take an idea from paper and fabricate it into a 3-D working object is fantastic,” he said.
When he’s not inventing something or preparing for Science Olympiad, Science Fair, or MESA, Nico on the practice field as a member of the Socorro High School soccer team.
His parents are Janet Coursey and John Seamons. He also has a younger brother, Paco Coursey.
Socorro High Freshman A Finalist At National Science Event
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