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Meet Christina Yepez

christina-lrgprof

St. Louis, Missouri


Age 13 at the time of innovation.


Achievement: Dissolved foam cups and made a super sticky glue

Sometimes science investigations can be surprising.


Christina and her “Blockheads” team from Girl Scout Troop 1484 had a challenge: they wanted to solve an environmental problem as part of a First Lego League (FLL) competition. When they learned that a nearby nursing home used about 20,000 foam cups a month, they went into action to keep polystyrene and Styrofoam® products out of landfills.


Christina and her team created the EcoBin—a metal bin containing a nontoxic substance that dissolves polystyrene when mixed with water. What surprised them was the mixture turned into a gooey substance that is a super strong glue. The girls are bottling the glue for sale and now have a provisional patent on their EcoGloo adhesive.


And how did they do in the FLL competition? They won first place!

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