High school innovators Justin Tan and Aaron Tan are reshaping environmental education with the Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Games, an interactive program that empowers youth to tackle climate challenges through scientific discovery, hands-on experimentation, and renewable energy education. By showing students how to generate electricity from garden soil, the brothers are equipping the next generation with the curiosity and skills to explore sustainable solutions.
By the end of the 2025 school year, the MFC Games will engage over 1,000 students across Canada, delivering workshops at schools and student conferences, including the Calgary Mayor’s Environment Expo. Their flagship programs, the MFC Olympics and Mini MFC Olympics, allows students to experiment with MFC technology in a collaborative, competitive setting, reinforcing real-world STEM skills.
Beyond competitions, the MFC Games is deeply invested in empowering youth as leaders in sustainability too. Through the MFC Coaching, past student participants can access resources and mentorship to run their own workshops. Meanwhile, the MFC Play, performed by the student participants, is a storytelling-based learning tool, making the concepts accessible and engaging for younger audiences. This year, their partnership with faculty members and students from the University of Calgary provides the capability to reach a record number of participants, across wider geographical areas, and deliver more diverse activities.
This peer-led model ensures long-term engagement, instilling confidence in young environmentalists to take climate action into their own hands.
