Anna Nixon said her interest in science and technology started with her childhood Lego robotics sets.

Now as a teen, Nixon's idea to turn an old teddy bear into an interactive toy helped her win a national girls-only technology competition.

Nixon, a Westview High sophomore, is one of five winners of the Ant-Man Micro-Tech Challenge sponsored by Marvel, Dolby Laboratories, Visa and Raspberry Pi. The competition was paired with Ant-Man, Marvel's new superhero flick, and encouraged girls to create projects that can inspire other girls to pursue interests in STEM fields, or science, technology, engineering and math.

Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, is about a master thief who can shrink in size but increase in strength and his mission to help protect his mentor's work. The movie opened in theaters on Friday.

The challenge, open from late May to mid-June, called for girls ages 14 to 18 to create micro-technology projects out of readily accessible materials. Participants had to submit a video demonstrating their project. Winners get the chance to host a workshop about their design in their hometown community.

As part of the prize package, Nixon and other winners traveled to Hollywood for the world premier of Ant-Man, a tour of Walt Disney studios and a technology workshop. Nixon bonded with other award winners, walked the red carpet and met the stars of the film.

"It's something that you don't really expect to be able to ever do," she said, adding that she's always been intrigued by STEM subjects. "On the outside, (technology) seems really simple. It's just fascinating."

Nixon said she heard about the competition through a Facebook group and immediately started brainstorming ideas with her family. She started by purchasing a Raspberry Pi, which is a small, low-cost computer that can hook up to a TV or a monitor.

Using the computer, a camera, her cellphone and a stuffed bear, Nixon created a soft toy that responds to verbal and touch commands and has face recognition ability. The bear holds a cellphone that displays the user's photo and different food options the person can select. Each food shown prompts a different response when selected.

Nixon said her inspiration for the project came from Disney's animated movie Big Hero 6, which features a healthcare robot named Baymax. Her younger sister volunteered to help by being the voice for the project, which took about three weeks to finish, Nixon said. Her project cost about $100 to make, Nixon said.

Other winning projects were a robotic arm that draws images created on a computer, a bubble machine, a lantern that responds to sound and a water usage monitor for a shower head.

Nixon, 15, has helped form technology teams and won an award for computer and information technology skills as a freshman at Westview. Nixon and her father, Nixon Xavier, also helped start the non-profit STEM4Girls, which offers tutoring services and camps.

Later this month Nixon plans to host a workshop about her project for 20 middle and high school girls through STEM4Girls as part of her award. Nixon said her project allows for creativity as the concept could easily be translated to another character.

With the non-profit as an avenue, she plans to help encourage more girls to pursue opportunities in STEM-related careers. She said her project helped her hone and grow her personal coding skills.

"There's a bunch of different doors that STEM opens up," Nixon said. "I don't think people really realize that."

Nixon worked late nights on her project to earn her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hollywood, Xavier said. Now is her chance to inspire other girls in her community, he said. 

"It's real magic," he said. "She has a platform. It's a great opportunity for her."