One high schooler won big bucks in a prestigious nationwide competition last week.

Maria Elena Grimmett, a 17-year-old senior at the Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches in Florida, won a $100,000 scholarship for her project in the 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology as the grand prize winner in the individual category.

She discovered a potential new way to remove sulfamethazine, an antibiotic commonly used for livestock, from groundwater. The drug can contaminate drinking water around farms.

Learn about how [STEM competitions turn science into a sport.]

Grimmett’s been working on the project since sixth grade, but she says her interest in science dates back to when she participated in her first science fair, during elementary school.

She thinks high school science teachers could help boost teens’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math — known as the STEM fields — through fun, hands-on labs that make students think and spark their curiosity about how things work.

Her school places an emphasis on project-based learning, something she really likes because she thinks actually getting to try things herself and see how things work is the best part of learning.

Alison Huenger, who runs the science research program at Manhasset Secondary School in New York, thinks making real-world connections is very important for STEM education.

She mentored students Kimberly Te and Christine Yoo, who together won the $100,000 grand prize in the team category of the Siemens competition for their project on creating a natural and relatively inexpensive way to clean oil spills.

Before starting a research project, she has her students go online and research real-world problems and global issues. Then, she’ll have them draw up potential solutions.

She has her students read articles on the news sites like Science Daily, which has articles on new research discussed in layperson’s terms, so it’s easier for students to understand. She’s also a fan of Science News and Scientific American.

The Society for Science & the Public also has a wide range of material that is accessible to both educators and students, she says, to help gain student interest and spark project ideas.

Research projects are a good way to increase STEM interest, she says.

And it doesn’t necessarily have to be just an individual project, she says. “It could be a class project where you divide up a whole entire project individually amongst the class, so they are all going towards a common goal.”

And its important teachers remind students that it’s OK to fail when studying these topics — science does not always have outcomes that are expected or predicted.

“Science, technology, engineering and math, it’s deemed or it has a stigma that it’s too difficult,” she says. “I think part of being an educator is you have to diminish that fear that’s involved and you have to create that encouraging environment where students aren’t afraid to ask a teacher a question.”

Get more [advice on keeping teens interested in STEM from Bill Nye the Science Guy.]

Another resource she recommends for students and teachers is Science Buddies, which has project ideas.

Grimmett is a big advocate of science fair projects, but they don’t have to be a one-off experience.

“If they are personally really curious about something, I think it’s the best thing in the world for them to continue doing research on whatever it is that they are curious about. Because that allows them to make a difference in the world and that’s such a rewarding experience.”

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STEM Pros Share Secrets to Boost Teen Interest, Participation originally appeared on usnews.com