Meet Seungah Chung, who used 200 ants to reveal how they navigate
A bright young student embarked on a fascinating ant navigation experiment fueled by her natural curiosity. Through her meticulous research, she uncovered that ants primarily depend on visual markers for navigation. This groundbreaking project garnered her acclaim at a well-regarded science competition, showcasing the potential of such findings to inspire the development of innovative robots and…
Seventh-grader Seungah Chung from California was fascinated by how ants navigate despite their tiny brains. This curiosity led her to design an experiment using 200 red harvester ants and a maze. The eighth-grader discovered that the ants don't just wander aimlessly, but rely on visual landmarks to find their way home. She used artificial landmarks in the maze and observed that when rearranged, the ants became confused, suggesting they use surrounding objects for guidance.
Her research earned her a finalist spot in the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, highlighting the importance of curiosity and careful observation in scientific discovery.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
