ThinkQuest Awards $1 Million in Prizes
In a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., scientists and celebrities helped announce the winning entries in ThinkQuest, a nationwide competition that challenged students ages 12-18 to work in teams to build educational tools and materials for the Internet. More than $1 million in scholarships and cash prizes were awarded to students, teachers and their schools.
A team from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., was named "best in contest" for "Economics and Investment," a stock market simulation on the Web. Visitors to the site learn how to buy, sell or hold stocks and the consequences of these actions.
A special award went to the "Design: Paradise" entry from Moanalua High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, for its "outstanding educational design." This site deals with the inter-relationships among industry, environment and population on the island of Kauai. Other winners were:
- "MusicNet: The Online Guide to Music Education" (arts and literature category);
- "Anatomy of a Murder: A Trip Through Our Justice System" (social science);
- "The Online POV Ray Tutorial" (interdisciplinary);
- "The Science and the Beauty of Fractals" (math and science); and
- "Runner's Oasis" (sports).
More than 3,000 students from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico submitted proposal concepts for ThinkQuest 1996. All entries can be accessed from the contest's web site, www.advanced.org/thinkquest, and guidelines for the 1997 edition are posted as well. Advanced Network & Services, Inc., Armonk, NY, (800) 61-THINK.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/1997 issue of THE Journal.