Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 TeenTech Washington Techathon! The event was a huge success, with over forty students from 13 different Seattle-area schools participating. Participants were presented with three specific prompts—veterans’ affairs, news literacy, and refugees and migration.

After a marathon day of team-based, real-world problem solving, our panel of judges including tech professionals and Living Computers’ event coordinator Nina Arens, without whom the Techathon never would have been possible, chose three teams to move on the TeenTech World Pitch:

Winner: Toxin Tester

Erika, Max, and Perrin designed an elegant and discreet way to test for unwanted drugs or allergens in drinks. The device is disguised as a straw and when put in food and drink can alert the user of any toxins which they are trying to avoid.

Winner: Perspectives

Yibing designed a web service which helps to broaden visitors’ perspectives on current issues in the news. It is a browser extension which brings up a list of news articles on the same topic which the user is viewing, allowing the user to see other perspectives on the same issues.

Winner: iFriend

Ava, Dahna, and Sophie designed an app with the purpose of helping young people make friends. Users can input information about themselves and their interests and the app helps to connect them to others with similar interests.