Town’s Blasting Advisory Board Announces High School STEM Competition on Blasting Impacts

April 7, 2026

Miami Lakes, FL – The Town of Miami Lakes, in collaboration with the Blasting Advisory Board, is proud to announce an upcoming high school STEM competition designed to engage students in understanding the science behind blasting and its impacts on the surrounding environment.

Sponsored by United Dental Specialists, the competition now features an enhanced prize pool totaling $1,000, making it even more exciting for participants. Awards will be distributed as follows:

First Place: $500
Second Place: $300
Third Place: $200

Participants will be challenged to create a model demonstrating the effects of seismic energy waves generated by blasting activities. This initiative aims to provide students with a hands-on opportunity to explore scientific concepts such as wave propagation, energy transfer, and soil behavior under dynamic conditions.

Blasting in the region presents unique conditions due to mining operations occurring approximately 85 feet underground, within the Biscayne Aquifer. Because water is incompressible, the aquifer can act as a conduit, allowing energy waves to travel significant distances with minimal decay similar to ripples moving across the surface of water after a disturbance.

Students may also explore related phenomena such as soil liquefaction, where energy introduced into water-saturated soil can cause ground instability. This can result in objects shifting, rising, or settling unevenly, highlighting the real-world implications of underground energy transmission.

The competition is open to high school students. Click here for project details.

For more information or to submit your project, please contact Noah Maklouf via email at makloufn@miamilakes-fl.gov.

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