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Submarines, phone chargers and smart cars, oh my! Techy teens get buildin'

It’s been a year for crazy inventions, and engineering among tweens and teens is no different. In the past month or so, youth across the country have been submitting their designs to engineering and science contests—and winning major moolah. Others have just been tinkering with incredible success. Here are a few wow-worthy projects to inspire you…

20,000 leagues under the sea

OK, maybe not quite that far, but New Jersey high school senior Justin Beckerman has built a one-man submarine that really works. Justin, 18, spent $950 and countless hours crafting his vessel, which can dive about 30 feet deep. Take a look at the video below, and read the full story here.

 

Zoom zoom!

We’ve heard of cars that run off of corn and cars that you can plug into the wall, but a car that runs off of social media? Now that’s a new one! Half a dozen teens crafted just such a vehicle, using a 1967 Volksawagen as the base. The project is part of Minddrive, an afterschool program that inspires at-risk kids to get crafty. Find out how it works by watching the video below and get the full scoop here… 

 

It’s electric

We love our smartphones, but the one downer is that have to be plugged in for ages pretty much every day. But thanks to Eesha Khara, an 18-year-old Californian, that might be thing of the past in the not-too-distant future. According to Mashable, her entry to the 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair was a super-capacitor that has the potential to charge a phone in 20 to 30 seconds. She scored $50,000 for her invention, which she plans to put toward her Harvard University tuition this fall. 
Are you working on something amazing? Tell us your STEM plans and inspirations in the comments!

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by Brittany Taylor | 2/1/2016
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