1/27-1/28: West Salem High School (West Salem, OR)

Project: Watermelon ripeness evaluator

West Salem is a forty-five minute drive from downtown Portland. West Salem High School was built four years ago (see photo).

West Salem HS
Originally uploaded by Joshua Schuler.

On a clear day, Mt. Hood is visible from the school.

Michael Lampert is a physics teacher at West Salem. The InvenTeam is composed of students of all years, including Michael's two children (Benjamin and Beth) who joined the InvenTeam so they could spend more time together.

The team is broken up into several groups, including the aptly named "Sugar Babies" who are testing sugar levels in watermelons, programming, hardware, and marketing/PR (see photo).

West Salem HS InvenTeam and Josh
Originally uploaded by Joshua Schuler.

At the moment, the InvenTeam is doing research that will hopefully show a useful correlation between how sound waves behave in a watermelon and the melon's sugar content. During my visit, I was shown the early stages of an experiment to determine the speed of sound through watermelon. At Michael's encouragement, the InvenTeam decided to grow its own test fruit and constructed a watermelon patch in the classroom (see photo).

West Salem HS InvenTeam's watermelon patch
Originally uploaded by Joshua Schuler.

The students are enthusiastic and clearly enjoy learning the science behind what some might think is a whimsical endeavor. I was delighted to meet the student who came-up with the project idea (yes, he used to work in a supermarket and was tired of testing watermelons for curious shoppers).

We discussed who the real potential beneficiary/customer of the device -- farmers or shoppers -- and wondered if watermelons ripen after being picked.

The InvenTeam will participate in April's Lemelson-MIT Prize Ceremony at Portland's OMSI and at the upcoming Oregon State Fair.