Statewide Ohio Heart Health Design Challenge

Last year, more than 1,200 students across the State of Ohio worked in teams to develop solutions to the opioid crisis. In May 100 students gathered at Battelle for the Student Solutions Showcase, presenting their solutions to scientists, engineers, and state political leaders. This year, we would like to present another challenge, Ohio Heart Health Design Challenge to be showcased week of May 14th at Battelle. (Read about last year’s showcase)

When choosing a statewide design challenge, we ask ourselves: Is the challenge worthy of your time and talent?  It is important enough to devote over a thousand minds to solve? Does it have large-scale impact? The hardest question is simply: does the challenge impact us personally? Is this a topic that you (and we) will be passionate about?

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This year’s challenge easily meets the criteria.

  • Heart Disease is a chronic problem that is on the rise – especially in the U.S.
  • Heart Disease is a challenge on a global scale– it is projected to be the worldwide leading cause of death by 2030.

Statistics prove that the problem matters, but there is more. These numbers represent people – moms, dads, granddads, uncles and cousins. We know this work will impact those we love the most.

When it gets down to the heart of the matter, matters of the heart impact us all.

Problem Statement:

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), heart disease is the leading killer of Americans (2013-2014 American Heart Association Teacher Resource Guide). Some facts identified by the AHA about heart (or cardiovascular) disease are listed below:

  • Nearly 84 million American adults have some form of cardiovascular disease. It is the top killer of American men and women.
  • Cardiovascular disease takes the lives of more than 2,150 American each day. That’s about one death every 40 seconds.
  • Cardiovascular disease is not just a man’s disease. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women. Since 1984, more women than men have died each year from heart disease.

For Ohio Students: It’s clear that heart disease is a huge problem. At Battelle, we believe that the students of today will solve the problems of tomorrow. So this year we are asking you—Ohio’s students—to give us your best thinking about how to solve the problem of heart disease. As you and your team will soon learn, there are many ways to approach the issue of heart disease. It’s your task to develop one solution.

The challenge: Work as a team to fight heart disease and help your community become heart healthy.

What solutions can your team provide that could…

  • prevent heart disease from happening?
  • manage heart disease in people who already have it?
  • identify and eliminate behaviors that lead to heart disease?
  • support healthy living for people who are struggling to make healthy choices?
  • identify people who are at risk of developing heart disease?
  • help whole families make healthy living choices?

For more information including teacher and student descriptions and design template go to: https://battelle.app.box.com/v/heart-templates/

We have created a problem statement to introduce the challenge to your students, as well as a template to get them started on a design brief. Feel free to edit these freely to serve your classroom’s needs.

At Battelle, we know that teachers are our bridge to the future, equipping students with the skills to solve the problems of tomorrow. We’re excited to see what your students can achieve, and hope to shine a light on the great work that you do in classrooms all across Ohio.

Year one exceeded our expectations. This May, we look forward to learning about more fresh approaches and innovative ideas at the second annual Student Solutions Showcase.

If you know you are in, let us know by filling out this form. Battelle will be releasing names of competing schools on November 1st, 2017.

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