To a crowd of parents, mentors and judges, each team of pre-teens and teens presented their big projects. Their goal was to use innovative ideas to connect Chattanooga with businesses on the other side of the ocean.
The business plans and groups were part of Eitanim Chattanooga, a weeklong innovation camp for seventh to 10th graders hosted through the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga at the Edney Innovation Building. Each group of four kids designed plans to improve their city by bringing Israeli businesses to America, such as coffee products, ice cream, vegan meat and tech companies.
Anya Parambath, 13, was part of the winning team, which presented an idea of 3-D printing meat. She said her group all loved to eat meat and spend time outdoors, so they wanted to promote a healthier option to meat.
She said her favorite part of the week was getting to know her teammates, even when it meant focusing on the work less and playing games more.
“All of us love to take breaks,” Parambath said. “Sometimes we would take longer breaks than we should [have].”