The FUHS B.E.A.S.T program, led by art teacher Mr. Hudson, recently won $5,000 in the Orkin “Start with Science” Challenge for schools and programs nationwide. Our B.E.A.S.T program was placed in the top 10 “most innovative” projects out of over 1,500 projects that were submitted.

The “Start with Science” Challenge is an innovation challenge sponsored by Orkin, a pest control company. The contestants were required to send a project proposal that related to insects.

Our B.E.A.S.T program submitted a “spider-man.” Once the team heard the theme, the team decided to put a literal twist on Spider-Man, making their project half human, half spider.

B.E.A.S.T. competed against many different schools and programs at various grade levels and degrees of science and innovation.

“There was a kindergarten class that wanted clay and toothpicks to make models of ants. There was a sixth grade class that wanted to start an apiary and get some beehives and learn beekeeping,” Mr. Hudson said.

B.E.A.S.T. is all about coming up with new ideas and figuring out how to build your vision. All the students have to be very hands-on and work together in order to complete their project.

“We want to get kids excited, so we’re going to challenge the kids to figure out what type of animal they want to come up with,” Hudson said.

B.E.A.S.T’s top ten placement at this competition was a great accomplishment for the program. They are looking to sign-up for more competitions and show off their talents.

“Pretty soon, we’re gonna unleash the beast,” Hudson said.