Local teachers compete in reality show

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Four teachers at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis are participating in the PBS reality show, “Make 48.”

They call their team the “Mallorys” named for the building that now houses Purdue Polytechnic. Earlier this year, they advanced to the national competition of Make 48 after inventing an IV stand housed in a flower pot.

“There is a motor inside of it which will raise the IV stand,” team member Gregg Nowling said.

The show requires contestants to come up with a concept, design, and build a prototype in 48 hours, then pitch the concept to the show’s judges.

“The challenge was healthcare at home. We do this everyday with our students, designing solutions to problems, and so, we thought we would put ourselves to the test and build and invent something, and solve a problem in 48 hours,” team member Drew Gooden said.

The team also had to make sure it wasn’t infringing on existing patents and make sure the IV stand was usable. They chose the plant concept because studies show plants calm people.

“We really relied on our fundamentals as design educators. We started with lots of divergent brainstorming, researching the scope of the field of already existing inventions, and converged upon a couple of ideas to determine if that’s how we wanted to go,” Gooden said.

Team Mallory has a patent pending for the IV stand. Fans can find out how team does when season 5 of Make 48 premieres September 12th.

Auditions for the next season of Make 48 will take place in Fishers September 9th through September 11th.