The National Research Council has suggested that science classes need to become more active and authentic. To help with this effort, Thayer Model Engineering was created several years ago as an inquiry science course at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont. In this school, the students apply the Thayer Model--a four-step problem-solving cycle--to identify and solve problems using science, math, and technology. This article discusses how students identify and solve local issues through iterations of a four-step cycle. Through iteration, each cycle becomes narrower in focus and more clearly defines the best final solution to the original problem. Once students become familiar with the model, they create and enter in a competition a new technology designed with the intent to improve the world. (Contains 3 figures.)