MIX Celebrates Student Innovation
Creative ideas, inventive solutions, entrepreneurial endeavors, and impactful research were the hallmarks of the fourth Annual Milken Innovators Xpo (MIX) held on Friday, April 13 at the Saperstein Middle School Campus. Nearly 200 Middle School students presented their innovative passion projects.
MIX is the culmination of the X-Learning program— the interdisciplinary design process employed by students to connect their learning to their interests, address real-world problems, engage in action, and cultivate their problem-solving skills. X-learning is broken down into four stages: identification, exploration, purposeful play, and connection. Bigger and better this year, MIX featured some new components such as more humanities based projects like public awareness, fundraising, and social media campaigns. A Jewish Connection corner was featured on each project board describing its connection to Jewish history and values. Taking Positive Action — part of the Milken Portrait of a Graduate —was the theme of this year’s MIX and was incorporated into each project. Guests could scan QR codes which took them to dedicated event web pages where they could find out more information on individual projects. Also, new this year, attendees were given a passport booklet to get stamped in each presentation room they visited. At the end of MIX, if they filled up their passports with stamps, they were eligible to participate in a raffle.
On a day which celebrated innovations and inspired ideas, Middle School Rabbi Aaron Finkelstein delivered the D’var Torah at the opening ceremony calling Moses the most famous innovator of the Torah. He noted that today we celebrate our students’ accomplishments, but we must also celebrate the failures. He added, “that true learning and true holiness come not from perfection, but from trial and error, failure and innovation.” Mark Kligman, an ethnomusicologist at UCLA, was the keynote speaker and conveyed to students, “The world is hungry for your ideas.” Expressing that it was okay to choose a path that others haven’t followed, he told them to think about creating their own opportunities and finding people to help guide them.
Families, faculty, and staff cycled through classrooms that were divided into ten categories: Math and Humanities, Mental Wellness, Environment, Aesthetics & Design and Architecture, Public Policy, Physical Wellness, Media, Morality and Education, Transportation, and Nutrition. Touching on relevant topics such as fake news and net neutrality, and raising awareness about food insecurity, students confidently presented their projects to guests as they strolled through the exhibits.
“Students and parents were highly impressed and emotionally invested in the amazing variety of projects that were presented this year,” said Charlie Mahoney, STEAM teacher and MIX advisor.
Students’ projects reflected their interests and were inspired by real-life problems. Keren Perelsen ’22 created the Mana Bar, a meal replacement nutrition bar made from whole grains, dried fruits, and seeds, for homeless youth in Los Angeles. While researching the project, Perelsen was surprised to find out there are 63,000 homeless teens in Los Angeles—a figure that was quite a bit higher than she expected. The next step, she said, is possibly creating a startup to help the teens.
Gabriella Bekhrad ’22 presented her project, “Designing and Building a Musical Instrument.” She explained the reason she pursued it was because it could help schools that are struggling to fund their music programs. A musician herself, Bekhrad, who plays three instruments, wanted to use one of her favorite hobbies as a way to help those in need. She created a ukulele using a 3D printer. “What I loved about MIX was how free I was to explore any topic, and how I could take so much away from this project,” she noted. “MIX not only taught me how to persevere and problem solve, but it also taught me that making a positive impact on the world is worth every stressful situation that I was put through.” Her next steps, she mentioned, are to make an even bigger instrument, reach out to more people and make a bigger impact on the world. She aspires to see at least one art program using the research, final product and ideas from her project.
Her own anxious dog was the inspiration for Natalie Shaby ’23 creating “Helping anxious dogs.” To help combat the stress and fear dogs experience when going to the vet, she produced a dog bed with pouches full of potpourri sewn inside that release a soothing scent. While working on the project, she discovered there were many scents to help calm dogs’ anxiety. "Seeing my dog enjoying this product makes me happy," said Shaby. Her next steps include creating a scented collar for dogs.
While MIX has come to a close for this year, some students will move forward with their projects, perfecting prototypes, making new discoveries, and turning their ideas into reality.
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