Underscoring its commitment to fostering intellectual curiosity, King School held its annual Senior Research Showcase. The event, held on May 30 in the Upper School Gym, showcased a remarkable array of self-designed student research projects that demonstrated the depth and breadth of the students’ interests and King’s academic programs.
From food insecurity to developing cutting-edge software that visualized electrostatics, crafting an enormous cat tree in 3D software, and developing an interactive marketing brochure for King School, the members of the Class of 2024 proved to be well-rounded and future-ready graduates. Students submit project proposals in April and spend the entire month of May diving into new interests or plunging deeper into established work.
Students exhibited their month-long research on tables throughout the space, allowing friends, family, faculty, and staff to learn as they listened, questioned, tasted, and viewed the displays up close.
Josephine Marra, who will be studying aerospace engineering at Ohio State University in the fall, chose something more terrestrial for her project.
“I wanted to build something, and I thought a cat tree for my cats would be fun.”
Josephine created an initial design using the 3D modeling software Tinkercad but was not completely satisfied with it. After discovering a large tree limb on a walk, she put her engineering skills to work to add a base, supports, and three platforms to it in King’s wood shop with guidance from teacher Mark Silence. Attendees at the showcase marveled at the towering structure in the middle of the gym.
To better understand electromagnetism, Julian LaGattuta programmed an electrostatics solver. The computer program simulated the physics of positive and negative charges, outputting the results in a visual format. Julian credited the success of his project to the education he received from King’s Mathematics Department.
“Getting comfortable with differential equations and linear algebra in Mr. Slavesen’s class this year really helped,” he said. “I couldn’t have done this project without it.”
Rafe Reinstein presented work detailing food insecurity in Westchester County, NY. In addition to studying statistical trends, Rafe worked at the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, where he experienced firsthand how the organization helps nearly 2,000 individuals every week. To complete his project, Rafe created a cookbook of healthy low-budget meals.
“I wanted to become a better cook, and I think these meals will be really helpful in college next year,” he said as he flipped through his book.
Grace Eagleton, who has attended King since Prekindergarten, used her project to highlight the wonderful community she experienced at King.
“I loved the Ambassador Program at King and being a tour guide,” she said. “I wanted to explore what goes into showcasing a school and what would make people want to come here.”
Inspired by King’s academic brochures, which she would give to touring families, Grace worked with King’s Admission and Marketing and Communications departments to create a brochure detailing student life beyond the classroom, including clubs, community events, and traditions.
To complement the brochure, Grace created an interactive slideshow profiling students in the Upper School.
“I wanted to showcase the sense of community I’ve always seen and feel is unique to King.”
These are just a few great examples of the impressive work students dedicated time and energy to. For a list of all the projects, please click here.
Beyond showcasing student work, the King School Senior Research Showcase ignited a call to action. The projects inspired attendees to consider challenges in their own communities and embodied the power of education to equip students with problem-solving skills for the future. This event served as a powerful reminder of the importance of curiosity and its role in driving positive change.