ExploraVision Science Competition Regional Winners Named
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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.
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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
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.