Long known as a potent neurotoxin, lead is still used in a range of products in the United States, from cosmetics to wheel weights, batteries to aviation gasoline.

Wheel weights—the unassuming metal bars added to your wheels by your local mechanic when re-balancing your tires—are a big source of lead in our communities. They easily fall off tires on roads, highways, and driveways, and begin shedding particles of toxic lead in as little as two weeks. That lead ends up in our soil, streams, and homes.

A team of intrepid young scientists in a South Carolina robotics league decided to do something about it. This is their story.

See photos and learn more about the Hyperbolics’ work in the photo feature: Little Lobbyists for Big Change