Kona students excel at mainland science competition

The middle school class of Waiaha School at University of the Nations competed Jan. 23 at the Future Cities Competition in San Diego.

They came in the top 10 of the 55 teams and were the first team ever competing from Hawaii. The team was funded in part by a $1,000 grant from the Kailua-Kona Wal-Mart.

Waiaha School took first place in the Sustainable Food category. It was their design of food boats, which were like giant fish tanks with Talapia in the base, fruits and vegetables growing on the surface and fruit trees on the edges using soil from the compost of their “Brick-E” trash compactor.

Judges volunteering from area universities listened to the students’ seven minute speech, and then questioned them on their engineering design of their 3D model of Kona in 100 years.