Students apply their Middle School knowledge of energy, chemistry, earth systems, and climate change in the first-ever 8th grade science capstone project.

As 8th graders rounded out their final year in Middle School, they took the slogan “think globally, act locally” and ran with it. For the first-ever 8th grade science capstone project, students applied their studies in energy, chemistry, earth systems, and climate change to take on an issue of environmental concern directly impacting their community.

Choosing a “test and build” or “research and advocate” project, projects included coding for tracking solar panels, manufacturing water filtering pipes, and fabricating protective footwear for dogs. Others hosted sewing workshops and community cooling stations while some chose to engage members of the School community on issues such as car idling, effective green spaces, composting, and building design.

“We wanted 8th graders to apply the scientific skills they have accumulated throughout Middle School in a meaningful context,” said Middle School Science Teacher Gabriel Koo. “The project requires students to come up with a research question centered on environmental stewardship, execute some experimentation or research on the issue, and then give back to the community by implementing a solution to start moving the needle.” 

Middle School Science Teacher Badia Albanna added, “It was lovely to watch the students take ownership of a problem and make it their own. And I was pleased to see the comfort they showed discussing their problems and then working with teachers, parents, and peers.” 

One student, whose project focused on the effects cheap clothing can have on the Potomac River, demonstrated how a single load of laundry containing certain materials can shed large amounts of microfibers that make their way to the river. “I presented my project to a 5th grade class and they all decided that they’d tell their families that they didn’t need to wash their jeans after each wearing,” she said.

Another student spoke about inspiring his neighbors to install rain gardens to help control storm water runoff during local flooding.

Overall, students reported that the projects gave them the opportunity and freedom to do independent and creative work. “It was fun to collaborate, brainstorm and test out ideas, laugh at the potential solutions that totally didn’t work, and then try to come up with something better,” said one of a pair of students who worked on a project related to the 240-million gallons of sewage that spilled into the Potomac in January 2026. 

“Many of the topics my students tackled fell outside the scope of our Middle School curriculum,” said Koo. “Rather than asking for my input and a solution, the students wanted to share their ideas and problems, which was enough for them to come to a realization. I saw so much growth in real time.”

Even after these students step up to Upper School, many of their projects will be embraced by the next class of 8th graders. “Scientific solutions can take a long time, even generations of study,” says Albanna. “We asked our students to be explicit about what did and didn’t work in their projects so that next year, our new crop of 8th graders, if they choose, can take up the baton of an issue and ponder alternate local solutions.”