ExploraVision Science Competition Regional Winners Named

• By David Nagel
• 03/07/08

More than 4,500 student teams submitted projects for the 2008 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards Program, an annual K-12 science competition. Twenty-four of them were named regional winners in the science competition this week.

The ExploraVision competition, sponsored by Toshiba and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, pulls together students in teams of two to four, along with a coach and optional mentor, to choose a technology that's currently in use and explore what the technology does and how it came about; then the teams imagine the possibilities of what that technology could be like 20 years from now and what problems it could solve that it doesn't solve now.

This year's competition--the 16th-annual ExploraVision program--received 4,527 team entries, representing 14,042 students throughout the United States and Canada. Regional, phase 1 winners received a Toshiba laptop and software for their schools.

Winners from Region 1 included:

• Grade K-3: The Pet Dream Automatic Pet Door and Tattoo Pen
  George L Cooke School; Monticello, NY
• Grade 7-9: Synthetic Spider Silk Bulletproof Vests
  Edgemont Jr Sr High School; Scarsdale, NY
• Grade 4-6: Chatter Box
  Country Day School of the Holy Union; Groton, MA
• Grade 10-12: CONNECT: Creation of New Nerve-Ending Connection Technologies
  Champlain Valley Union High School; Hinesburg, VT

Winners from Region 2 included:

• Grade K-3: Flavoring Machine
  Broadneck Elementary; Arnold, MD
• Grade 4-6: T.H.E. Shelter (Temporary Housing Emergency)
  Malcolm Elementary; Waldorf, MD
• Grade 7-9: Tower Turbine
  McLean High School; McLean, VA
• Grade 10-12: TRAIL–Stimulating Transcription Factor (TSTF)
  Northside High School; Roanoke, VA

Winners from Region 3 included:

• Grade K-3: Stethoscope 1000
  Rachel Freeman School of Engineering; Wilmington, NC
• Grade 4-6: Holo(edu)graphy
  Greenfield Hebrew Academy; Atlanta, GA
• Grade 7-9: Micro-Fiber Nerve and Muscle Activator
  Sola Fidelis Symposium (Homeschool); Augusta, GA
• Grade 10-12: CHIRP: Circuit for Enhanced In-Vivo Regulated Bioplastics Production
  North Carolina School of Science and Math; Durham, NC

Winners from Region 4 included:

• Grade K-3: ViBall
  Mediapolis Community Schools; Mediapolis, IA
• Grade 4-6: Instant House for Disaster Relief
  Marsh Elementary; Rockford, IL
• Grade 7-9: Strabismus Glasses
  West Hills Middle School; West Bloomfield, MI
• Grade 10-12: Cervical Analysis Test (C.A.T.)
  Don Mills Collegiate Institute; Toronto, ON

Winners from Region 5 included:

• Grade K-3: Finder
  Indian Creek Elementary; Olathe, KS
• Grade 4-6: TBMS - Taste Bud Modifier System
  Discovery School; Edinburg, TX
• Grade 7-9: The Radar Hunter
  Scotus Central Catholic Jr/Sr High; Columbus, NE
• Grade 10-12: In-Vitro Reconstructed Human Epithelium
  Gentry High School; Gentry, AR

Winners from Region 6 included:

• Grade K-3: Vitamixer
  Adobe Bluffs Elementary; San Diego, CA
• Grade 4-6: Wavemaster
  Veneta Elementary; Veneta, OR
• Grade 7-9: The Four-Way Catalytic Converter
  Palisades Charter High; Pacific Palisades, CA
• Grade 10-12: M.U.S.C.L.E.: Muscular Utilization through Synthetically Conductive Linear Elastics
  InTech Collegiate High School; North Logan, UT

In the second phase of the competition, teams create a Web site showcasing their projects. Judges then choose eight winning national teams. Members of the four first-place teams each receive a $10,000 savings bond. Second-place winners receive a $5,000 savings bond. (Winners on Canadian teams receive a similar amount based on the rate of exchange at the time of the award.) In addition, finalist team members will receive a trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2008 for a celebration and awards presentation.

Second-phase winners will be named May 1. The ExploraVision Awards Weekend will take place June 4 through 8.

Get daily news from THE Journal's RSS News Feed

Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director, education for 1105 Media's Public Sector Media Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal. A 22-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEJournalDave (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).