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Staten Island 2nd grader wins national science contest – Metro US

Staten Island 2nd grader wins national science contest

Staten Island second grader wins a national science contest put on by Scholastic and Pfizer.

Imagine there’s an app that’ll let you know when you should arrive at your doctor’s office so you can wait for the shortest amount of time. If only, right? Well, thanks to a Staten Island second grader, that app may become a reality.

Sofia Babaytseva, a student at PS 50/Frank Hankinson School in Oakwood, came up with the idea to create the app as part of “If Kids Could Cure,” a national education contest created by Pfizer and Scholastic that asks kids grades K-5 to solve medical and societal issues.

Babaytseva not only won the K-2 category and a backpack full of science supplies for herself, including a lab coat and microscope, she also landed books for her classroom and a $15,000 grant for PS 50’s science program.

“At Pfizer, we believe kids can be problem solvers. Through this partnership with Scholastic, we are encouraging students to apply their imaginative powers to tackle day-to-day concerns,” said Sally Susman, Pfizer’s executive vice president of corporate affairs. “Sofia imagined the important things she could be doing instead of waiting for the doctor — homework, chores, playing with friends — and her solution to use technology to improve this healthcare inefficiency is brilliant.”

Babaytseva came up with the app after she and her mother had an hours-long wait at a doctor’s office, SILive.com reported. She was inspired by an app her family used while visiting Disney World that showed them the wait times for rides.