Play, Save, Change with 5th Graders New App

As Natalia Koh ‘28 says, “four kids can change the world.” That’s what she and her three Bryn Mawr classmates are trying to do with their new app “Play, Save, Change,” which helps people learn more about recycling.  

In addition to Natalia, “Play, Save, Change” was created by 5th graders Sapna Gupta, Alessia Noble-Shams and Anoushka Pandey. 

First the intrepid students interviewed 20 members of their community to learn more about what people do and don’t know about recycling. For example, “we learned that a lot of people incorrectly recycle pizza boxes” Alessia said. “which you aren’t supposed to recycle because of the pizza grease.  We also found that people do recycle glass bottles, which is the right thing to do.”

Using the information they gathered from interviews and the help of the program MIT App Inventor, they worked to create“Play, Save, Change.” The three-part app includes a game to help users learn which items are recyclable and which are not, a helpful guide of recycling vocabulary terms and tips on how to recycle in your community.  

The four friends aren’t stopping with just the app. They are one of over 40 student groups participating in Bryn Mawr’s Social Impact Expo later this spring where they hope to spread their message about the importance of recycling. The Expo gives students the opportunity to showcase extracurricular projects that benefit the community, both at Bryn Mawr and beyond. In the future they are also hoping to introduce multi-stream recycling on campus and incentives for community members to recycle more.

While the app isn’t available in the App Store just yet, they want to “update the app every year, maybe find a sponsor and add new aspects,” Alessia said. 

Researching a topic and designing an app takes a lot of effort, but all four friends agree, working together was their favorite part of the whole experience.They are ready for the Social Impact Expo and wherever their project takes them next.