President Barack Obama hosted his last science fair at the White House on Wednesday. The event featured more than 130 participants this year, including five teenagers from San Diego.
Seventeen-year-olds Siobhan Garry, Mona Fariborzi, Lauren Mori and Bansi Parekh and 18-year-old McKenna Stamp designed Spectrum, an Android app that aims to provide a social media support network for the LGBTQ community.
Obama, who started the science fair in 2010, said kids experimenting with science remind the country that it can tackle huge challenges from cancer to climate change.
Obama said he's witnessed the passion, curiosity and brainpower that characterize America's next generation. He said he's also seen an alarming number of robots. Obama joked the robots have startled him but haven't harmed him — at least not yet.
He says science has always been the hallmark of American progress.
KPBS News staff contributed to this report.
