Biology Students Win High School Division Again for ZOOMS STEM Challenge

March 7, 2025

March 6, 2025 update:

Eight CDH teams were selected to showcase their projects at the MN Zoo on Tuesday, March 4 and three of them earned awards. 

With 64 schools participating, a total of 4,299 students submitted 1,370 projects in this year’s competition. For the second consecutive year, CDH has won the high school division.

The following CDH teams earned awards:

Gibbon You a NEW Exhibit (Exhibit Design)

1st Place High School - Overall
For excellence in white-cheeked gibbon engineering and design for the 2024-2025 ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge.

• Isa Langer ‘27
• Joseph Bartels ‘27
• Katie Nobrega ‘27

Gib Gibbons Some Fun (Enrichment Design)

2nd Place High School - Overall
For excellence in white-cheeked gibbon engineering and design for the 2024-2025 ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge.

• Olivia Peterson ‘27
• Brynn Scanlan ‘27
• Channing Haycraft ‘27
• Frannie Dolan ‘27

Gibbon Paradise (Exhibit Design)

Flint Hills Resources Innovation Award - High School
For an imaginative and creative approach to the development of a unique Zoo design challenge solution.

• Ellie Nelson ‘27
• Izzy Carlson ‘27
• Brooklyn Frost ‘27
• Natalia Wallace ‘27

See the ZOOMS Website for pictures of all of our exhibit and enrichment designs that competed on Tuesday, March 4.

Students in College Prep, Advanced, and AP Biology classes have successfully completed their ZOOMS Projects for the year as part of the ZOOMS (ZOO Math & Science) STEM Design Challenge. This initiative, sponsored by Flint Hills Resources in partnership with the Minnesota Zoo, engages elementary, middle, and high school students in designing innovative animal enrichments or exhibit spaces for a featured zoo animal.

This year’s focus animal was the Northern White-cheeked Gibbon, a species represented at the Minnesota Zoo by Tia and Bailey, who reside on Gibbon Island in the Tropics Trail. CDH students began their research in the first trimester with a hands-on lab experience at the zoo, where they studied animal behavior and exhibit design. The project officially launched in the second trimester, during which students worked in groups of two to four, brainstorming, refining, and finalizing their designs for either an enriched habitat or a redesigned exhibit space.

A total of 79 groups - 53 exhibit redesign teams and 26 enrichment teams - participated in this year’s challenge. Following a series of presentations, 20 outstanding groups (six enrichment and 14 exhibit) were submitted to the zoo for consideration. The groups submitted for consideration were:

• Olivia Peterson '27, Frannie Dolan '27, Brynn Scanlan '27, Channing Haycraft '27
• Cece Christianson '27, Adele Diebel '27, Lily Grassman '27, Sofia Troje '27
• Anne Louise Sullivan '27, Joey Erlenbusch '27, Lizzy Barrett '27
• Josephine Gray '27 & Adeline Althaus-Kotila '27
• Leila Colvin '27, Paloma Kronschnabel '27, Lucia Mellum '27, Ellie McQuillan '27
• Ollie Wiese '27, Maya Schulte '27
• Addy Larson '27, Joey Massari '27, Nina Droel '27, Maya Remer '27
• Henry Stangler '27, Pollack Schmidt '27, & Griffin Peterson '27
• Zoe Hughes '27, Isla Johnson-Grass '27, Allie Burth '27
• Ryan O'Connell '27 & Lauren Fairbairn '27
• Joseph Bartels '27, Isa Langer '27, & Katie Nobrega '27
• Abby Clayton-King '27, Abby Nesset '27, Athena Chen '27
• Terenata James '27, Rhema Edomaruseh '27, Galilee Balema '27
• Grace Evans '27, Nora Conlin '27, Josie Dahlheimer '27
• Torsten McCleod '27, Ronan Traynor '27, & Marcus Matyas '27
• Carolynn Ek '27, Greta Johnson '27, Anna Snustad '27
• Colin Miller '27, Sam Zweber '27, Chase Style '27, Solomon Teuber '27
• Colin Smith '27, Walter Omann '27, Eddie Stangler '27
• Herbie Richardson '27, Luke Smith '27, Jack Morrissey '27
• Ellie Nelson '27, Izzy Carlson '27, Brooklyn Frost '27, Natalia Wallace '27

On Wednesday, February 5, CDH received the exciting news that the following groups have been selected to present at the ZOOMS Exhibition at the Minnesota Zoo on Tuesday, March 4, 2025:

• Ollie Wiese & Maya Schulte – Gibbon Exhibit Pioneers
• Josie Gray & Adeline Althaus-Kotila – Gibbon Games
• Olivia Peterson, Brynn Scanlan, Channing Haycraft & Frannie Dolan – Gib Gibbons Some Fun
• Torsten McLeod, Ronan Traynor & Marcus Matyas – The Great Gibbon Gallery
• Isa Langer, Joseph Bartels & Katie Nobrega – Gibbon You a NEW Exhibit
• Grace Evans, Nora Conlin & Josie Dahlheimer – Gibbon Getaway
• Ellie Nelson, Izzy Carlson, Brooklyn Frost & Natalia Wallace – Gibbon Paradise
• Henry Stangler, Pollack Schmidt & Griffin Peterson - The Canopy Kingdom