A Successful 4th Grade Science Project

A science project conducted by three Olathe fourth-graders is getting national attention and some nice rewards for the budding scientists.

The students -- Martin Butler, Ryan Schools and Grant Balkenbusch of Heatherstone Elementary School -- placed second in their grade bracket in the ExploraVision Awards program, which asks students to imagine ideas for technologies that could be developed in the next 20 years. The team's project, dubbed the Tourette's Syndrome Preventer, is similar to a pacemaker that's implanted in the brain to control the involuntary tics associated with the neurological disorder, Tourette syndrome. The TSP detects tics and reroutes them to non-disruptive actions like wiggling a toe. It then harnesses the energy the brain generated in creating the tic to recharge the device's battery.

The second-place award will give each student a $5,000 U.S. savings bond and a trip to Washington, D.C., for the ExploraVision gala weekend and science showcase June 7 to 11.

During the event, the students will discuss their 4th grade science projects and be interviewed by members of the National Press Club.

The students thought of the device after Butler got the idea from a TV show.

During its speech, the team will discuss what technological breakthroughs have to take place in the next 20 years for their device to become a reality.

"Nanotechnology has to advance to make something this small," Balkenbusch said.

"I was home sick one day, and I watched 'Oprah' and she was doing a segment on Tourette's," he said.

The Heatherstone team was one of 24 teams selected from more than 4,500 entries in the United States and Canada to be finalists in the program, which is sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association.

Two winners were selected from each grade bracket, which included competitions for kindergarten through third grade, fourth grade through sixth grade, junior high school and high school.

Diane Pollitt, the boy's QUEST teacher and coach, said she's impressed with the team's ability to stand out among the 4,500-plus entries. "It's still hard to fathom that we're one of the eight entries," she said.

She's also impressed with the fact the students worked together as a complete team only during the occasional recess or lunch. "They were never all three here to work on it together," she said of the QUEST class.

To see if their concept would be feasible, the boys e-mailed two neurosurgeons at the University of Kansas Medical Center and explained their idea. The doctors, John Grant and Richard Dubinsky, e-mailed them back with their critiques.

The doctors told the boys their concept is a tad ahead of its time, but something that's feasible 20 years from now. The boys used the doctors' suggestions and their own research to construct a prototype of the TSP. It features a battery, gears, a silicon computer chip and wires to route the brain's electricity.

The team recently met with a local boy who has Tourette syndrome and received e-mail from a woman whose father and cousin have the syndrome and could benefit from the TSP. Pollitt has helped students enter the ExploraVision contest for the last 13 years. The team also was a regional winner in 2000 and 2003.

The trio is looking forward to its trip.

Not only have the boys received awards and recognition for their 4th grade science projects, but they've learned a lot about a disease that affects one out of ever 1,000 people.