Sixth-graders' work will make them part of museum's exhibit

The news caused an uproar in the sanctuary at Trinity Lutheran School in Roselle.

There was yelling. And screaming. People jumping up and down.

A class of sixth-graders just found out they've been chosen for the unprecedented honor of helping design a new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.

And in two years, when the kids take their standard eighth-grade trip to the museum, the display on renewable energy they helped create will just be opening to the public.

The students' exhibit design was selected from among 60 submitted to the museum from middle and high schools across the region.

"Your presentation brought tears to our eyes, not only because of the science content but the team element. You were positive team problem-solvers," Andrea Ingram, the museum's vice president of education, said in delivering the surprise announcement Tuesday.

Perhaps most surprising is that Trinity -- a small parochial school -- had 10 percent of the total entries to the contest. And when the finalists were chosen, the school had two of the remaining eight entries.

"The teamwork and effort we saw was great," science teacher Amy Moeller said. "There were hidden gifts and talents we found, and sometimes it takes a project to bring them out."

The students' idea centered around traveling through themed rooms making energy from water, corn and hydrogen. Areas would show the benefits of each energy source, and activities would allow museum guests to make a rain barrel, calculate fuel savings, play games and -- as they passed through the exhibit -- collect puzzle pieces.

The final stop is an environmentally beautiful room where guests collect the final piece to their word "SOL-TION." It's a U.

"There's no solution without 'U,' " said 11-year-old Kaitlyn Storz of Hanover Park.

Andrea Vazquez said she was dreading science studies upon entering middle school, but as soon as they started working on the contest, that changed. Each day she arrived in class excited to learn something new.

"I was like, 'Science is boring,' but this whole thing turned it around," said Andrea, 12, of Streamwood.

Twenty-three students received $50 gift cards from Target as their prize, Moeller got a new laptop, and the school received $3,000 to spend on science education.

As the entire iDesign: Energy Planet exhibit is created over the next few years, Trinity students will be included and asked for input, museum spokeswoman Julie Parente explained. Their original idea won't be used verbatim, but concepts will be drawn from it and some specific examples may well wind up in the finished product.