Students Win ZOOMS Awards

April 14, 2021

The results are in from the Minnesota Zoo's Annual ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge!  

ZOOMS challenges students to develop a solution to a real problem faced by zookeepers and staff at the Minnesota Zoo. This year, students were challenged to apply their science and math knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving skills to engineer an innovative enrichment solution for the Minnesota Zoo’s red panda, Min, while encouraging natural behaviors and supporting zookeeper goals.

Congrats to the CDH team of Meredith Anfang ’23,  Catie Gaertner ‘23, Olivia Kimlinger ‘23, and Ruby Lexau ‘23! They won the ZOOMS Innovation Award in this year’s Design Challenge. This award focuses on the idea and recognizes a design that was ‘out of the box,’ and completely original in comparison to current enrichments used at the Zoo. The approach to the design is also creative and based on unique research of the animal.  Their prize is a 4-pack of Minnesota Zoo Passes, a T-shirt, and an Award Certificate.

Also congrats to the CDH team of Riley Klaus ‘23, Colin Hilger ‘23, Gavin Halvorson ‘23, and Max Perry ‘23! Their team won the Conservation Award in this year’s challenge. This award is given to the design that emphasized conservation, through theme or through research, and provided impressive and creative incorporation of ‘action-based’ tips for guests and goals for saving the species. Their prize is a 4-pack of Minnesota Zoo Passes, a T-shirt, and an Award Certificate.