Eleventh-grade students in the design and technology course at Mission Bay High School presented a deliciously sweet final project at this year’s engineering competition on Nov. 16. The annual program challenges students to innovate their chocolate bar by completing all components of the design cycle from market research, prototype design, and testing, to wrapper creation, production, and reflection.

Design and technology, a two-year honors-level course within Mission Bay’s International Baccalaureate program, teaches students design basics, product development, and professional marketing skills. By the end of the project, students have been given real-world product development experience.

This year’s chocolate bar flavors ranged from milk chocolate caramel and peppermint bark to pumpkin-spice Nutella and white-chocolate strawberry cookie crisp. In addition to engineering, the project has a strong element of art and creativity. The teams mold their confection into a unique shape, combine innovative flavors, and include elements of the school’s identity within the candy bar name and wrapper design.

Student Sofia M. and her team created the Sandbar chocolate bar, a nod to Mission Bay’s beachfront location and buccaneer mascot.

“I found a lot of enjoyment in the hands-on nature of the project, particularly in the ability to physically bring our team’s ideas to life with the help of the incredible supplies provided by the school,” she said. “I now truly understand the learning curve associated with CAD (computer-aided design) modeling and what it takes to translate conceptual designs into tangible objects through 3D printing.”

After listening to the presentations and sampling each of the products, judges used a variety of criteria in addition to texture and taste to rate each team. While only one of the ten teams will take home the coveted blue ribbon, all students can walk away proudly from the experience with a full belly and the sweet taste of product development success.

For information on Mission Bay High School or to find out about the District’s School Choice program, visit missionbay.sandiegounified.org.