Bloomington student recognized in national science competition

Maisy Hoffman, an incoming freshman at Jefferson High School, is a Minnesota State Merit Winner in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, the nation’s premier middle school science competition honoring outstanding innovations from young scientists that demonstrate the power of science to improve the world.

Hoffman, an Olson Middle School student last year, was recognized for a “daily task reminders” app idea to help students, like her, with ADHD. The app would send push notification reminders to a user’s smartphone throughout the day.

“One of the biggest problems I and many other people with ADHD face is remembering to do daily tasks... This is caused by forgetfulness and hyperfocus, which occurs when a person is extremely engrossed in one activity,” Hoffman said in her contest video submission, which you can watch below.

The national competition recognizes a grand prize winner, 10 finalists, up to 51 state merit winners and four honorable mentions who show a passion for using science to solve everyday problems. This year, there were 26 state merit winners, including Hoffman. Each one receives special recognition on the competition’s website.