ExploraVision Competition Winners Selected
Winners of the ExploraVision
Competition, announced April 29,
have used bio-scaffolding technology to create surgeon's tools, found
ways to
dispose of electronic waste, discovered how to detect food poisoning and
protected sea turtle hatchlings — all with technology that may not be
available
for 20 more years.
Open to
K-12 students in the United States and Canada, the Toshiba/NSTA (National Science
Teachers Association) ExploraVision
program, now in its 23rd year, challenged entrants to
think 20 years
down the line at what future technologies may need to address while
simulating
real scientific research to outline how they plan to test their ideas.
Students
also create a mock Web site to illustrate their concept.
Working
in teams of two to four, students — with the help of a teacher and adult
mentor, if they so chose — competed in age-level groups, first at a
regional
level. Members of the four winning team members, in categories based on
grade
level, each won a $10,000 savings bond and members of second-place teams
won
$5,000 savings bonds.
Members
of all eight teams will visit Washington, D.C. June 3-6 on an
expense-paid
trip with their families, mentors and coaches to participate in a
Congressional
Science Showcase on Capitol Hill.
The four
winning teams by grade level are:
The four
second-place teams by grade level are:
"The
caliber of the projects entered in the ExploraVision competition serve
as an
inspirational reminder of the ingenuity that comes from igniting
students'
natural curiosity in science," said NSTA President Juliana Texley. "These
students are developing innovative solutions to show how our society can
do
things better and more efficiently."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.