Young women create incredible inventions for Marvel 'Ant-Man' competition
Aside from their high-powered superheroes and thrilling action sequences, the Marvel Cinematic Universe also boasts a strong legion of innovative characters who can whip up futuristic gadgets and weapons in a moment's notice. From Iron Man's billionaire bad boy Tony Stark and his ingenius Arc Reactor to Ant-Man's Hank Pym and his futuristic shrinking suit, these characters pack a mechanical and engineering punch with their state-of-the-art technological marvels.
And now, Marvel has found five young women who have proven themselves to be super pioneers of futuristic tech.
From May 21 to June 11, girls from the ages of 14-18 were invited to participate in Marvel's Ant-Man Micro-Tech Challenge, a new contest sponsored by the comic book studio where contestants were asked to create something "big" from something very small by using at least one readily available micro-technology component (so none of the rare Adamtanium present in Steve Roger's shield or Ultron's maniacal mech body was allowed.) The projects could be utilitarian, artistic, or just fun for the sake of fun.
The contestants were then asked to submit a short video demonstrating their project and how it would inspire future girls to develop an interest in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, or math. On June 29, Marvel announced the winners of the contest, who designed a unique array of inventions that, while diverse, are similar for their innovation and ingenuity.
Each of the winners received two round-trip tickets to Southern California as well as hotel accommodations from June 28-30 to attend the world premiere of Ant-Man at the Dolby Theatre on Monday, June 29. The young women will also attend a special "The Evolution of Technology" workshop held by Walt Disney Imagineers at the Disneyland Resort, and will also get a tour of the historic Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif.
You can see a video of the girls discussing and demonstrating their inventions in the video above, and can learn more about their creations below.
Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll and Michael Douglas, Marvel's highly-anticipated Ant-Man premieres in theaters nationwide on July 17.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Marvel and this station.
