SEATTLE – A pen that helps with spelling, writing and math. A plate that alerts you if you’re allergic to something that’s been served up. A hurricane prevention system and a device that would detect coronavirus. 

Those are the technology concepts that earned honorable mentions for four teams of students at St. Joseph School in the 2021 ExploraVision competition. It’s the fourth year that St. Joseph students have received awards in the competition, which this year drew nearly 500,000 students from across the U.S. Awards were presented June 3. 

The 11 students, members of the school’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) program, spent most of the year deciding on, researching and designing their projects, aimed at envisioning how technology will develop.  

“It’s fun to make the project,” said fifth-grader Maurice van Wollen, who has participated in ExploraVision since third grade. “You get to work with friends, and you get to come up with great ideas.” 

Teacher Laura Laun said she challenges students “to solve a problem facing God’s creation.” She teaches the middle school STEAM exploratory class and the STEAM club for elementary school students.  

Each team brainstorms, researches current technologies and then develops its project concept through a written report, website and short video. Even though students were working virtually this year, “the cooperation and brainstorming was just as good as in person,” Laun said.  

The honorable mention projects are: 

  • Super Pen, envisioned by first-graders Eduardo Alexander and Joey Stinson. The pen will help students with spelling, writing and math, while displaying a hologram of the teacher or a friend. “It’s not only smart. It’s intelligent and learns,” Alexander said. “I really liked how the hard work paid off,” he added. Watch the video. 


  • PlateWell, developed by third-graders William Cable, Nathan Mesfin, Eli Sy and Conor Tilghman-Walsh. The technological plate alerts the diner if they are allergic to food on the plate; it also helps manage health by determining the weight and nutrition of the food on the plate. Watch the video.


  • VIRUSafe, envisioned by fifth-graders Maurice van Wollen and Zane Zilliax. TThe device, about the size of a credit card chip reader, would detect coronavirus through the use of a tiny vacuum to gather particles. Watch the video.


  • Hurricane Preventalater Fuel Maker is the concept of fifth-graders Charles Laun, Aiden Smith and Mo Richardson to turn potential hurricanes into renewable fuel. A computer model would predict where hurricanes will form, then ocean thermal energy conversion would cool the water and prevent the hurricane from forming. The energy removed would be combined with carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from the water to create renewable fuels to reduce climate change. Watch the video.

The four teams were among 17 at St. Joseph that participated in 2021 ExploraVision. In 2019, a St. Joseph team won the national title for its age group, while another team placed second in 2020. 

“It’s exciting to see what they use in class to create things,” said Mary Helen Bever, primary school director at St. Joseph School. 

Learn more about ExploraVision projects at St. Joseph School.