Teenagers who are from 13 to 18
Inventing the future
Imagine you can change the world by asking yourself three questions: What do I love? What am I good at? What do I want to change? What do I want to change?
The Google Science Fair is a competition for teenagers aged 13 to 18. It wants them to create a project by thinking about these questions. Google hopes this competition is going to find the world’s next great scientist.
Brittany Wenger, 17, found a way to improve the accuracy of a cancer- testing computer program. This program is successful about 97 percent of the time. Unlike other similar programs, Brittany’s program is “trained”. When her program does tests, it learns from experience and becomes better. Brittany plans to introduce her invention to hospitals one day. She also volunteers with a group called Made with Code. She shows other girls how they can achieve their dreams through computer programming.
Turkish teenager Elif Bilgin wants to reduce pollution. So, she spent two years doing research on making plastic from other kinds of materials. She wanted to make a new kind of plastic that people can use in everyday life. Now, she found a way to make plastic using banana peels! Some companies are using Elif’s plastic to make artificial body parts. Elif hopes that her plastic is going to replace normal plastic in the future.
Look at the photo and title. What do you think the article is about?
Skim the article. What are Brittany’s and Elif’s projects?
Check. Who do these sentences describe?
Answer the questions about Inventing the future.
Talk with a partner. What do you want to change around you? Why?
