Wood Dale Junior High STEM Students Head To National Future City Competition

CHICAGO (CBS) -- This afternoon, we can say "Hail to the Champs." They're all of 12, 13 and 14 years old; and they are already mastering some difficult subjects -- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Wood Dale Junior High School students just won a state championship in the Future City competition. Now they're taking on competitors from across the country.

Though they are barely into their teenage years, they happily made an enormous sacrifice to take on a big challenge.

"I came in extra in the morning. I came in during lunch. I came after school on extra days," said 13-year-old Hanna Dydynski.

"I put in 40, 50, 60 extra hours into this. I mean, that came out of my sleep. That came out of the time I eat," said 14-year-old Zoya Siddiqui.

The payoff for the Wood Dale Junior High School students was first place in the Chicago Regional Future City competition. It's the second year in a row they've won this title, a test of their creativity, and their STEM talents.

Dan West, a teacher at Wood Dale Junior High, started the STEM program at the school. He's their coach.

"For me, personally, it's really a dream come true. I absolutely love this Future City Program. I think what it does for kids and getting them interested in engineering, is second none," he said.

This year's theme was Waste-Free Future. So the students at Wood Dale created a plan for cleaning up pollution in the Nile River, 6,000 miles away.

"We thought, well, if we could take the trash out of the Nile and reuse it, we're only helping pollution at its source; we're taking materials that would normally be floating in the ocean, and we could use that in our city," Zoya said.

It's a grueling competition. The students not only had to build a model for their project, but also had to write a 1,500-word essay, and answer difficult questions from experts.

"It really forces them into the world of engineers. They're being tested by engineers. They're being judged by engineers," West said.

At a time when schools and employers are trying to recruit more young women into STEM fields, half of this winning team is made up of girls, including Hanna.

"I think this whole Future City, it really inspired me to do something in the engineering field and how to make the world a better place," she said.

Zoya has her eye on space.

"I've heard a lot of people say this, but I want to be an astronaut," she said.

When they got word they won the regional competition, the team was ecstatic.

"I heard my name, and I shot up, and I hugged everyone. I started screaming. I think it was one of the best moments of my life," Zoya said.

Now it's on to the national competition, representing the state of Illinois. It seems they're up to the challenge.

"What's awesome about this is this is teaching these kids about real world problems that they're going to be facing in their lifetime," West said.

The national competition began last weekend, and it continues this weekend. West marveled at his students' poise under pressure.