Issue link: https://owlkids.uberflip.com/i/1536420
24 OWL May 2025 Science enthusiast Miles learned that sirens were not always enough to get emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire engines through traffic safely. So he got to work on a science project that could help. Let's learn more about Miles and his life-saving idea! OWL: How did you come up with your project? MILES: It was my grandfather's idea. He told my dad years ago, and my dad told me. I learned that emergency vehicles are often delayed or have accidents with other vehicles, even with their sirens on. Accidents happen most at intersections. Sometimes drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists don't hear the sirens. O: How does your project help? M: It uses an automatic flashing orange light system at intersections to alert people that an emergency vehicle is coming through so they can move out of the way. O: How did you build the model? M: I designed and printed it on a 3D printer. I used LEDs for the traffic lights. I programmed an Arduino microcontroller to detect when a toy car drives over a switch in the road. Then the LEDs light up. I put a radio frequency identification device (RFID) on the emergency vehicle. This sends a message to the Arduino only when the emergency vehicle triggers the switch, not a regular car. SAFETY FIRST! M a k e r S p a c e